


Chilling Adventures of Twins

by Holtzmann1998



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2019-09-18 14:03:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 121,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16996392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Holtzmann1998/pseuds/Holtzmann1998
Summary: Your name is Y/N Spellman, younger identical twin to Sabrina Spellman, the favorite niece of Zelda Spellman, and the only creature to ever yell at Zelda Spellman and not end up dead, missing, or in the Cain Pit. When Sabrina drags you away from your Dark Baptism, all hell breaks loose and Aunt Zelda is often left to pick up the pieces. Reader insert story that takes place during CAoS.





	1. Chapter 1 Part 1

“Goodnight, Harvey.” You hear Sabrina say. You wait on the other side of the door for your twin sister to enter the house.

“Goodnight, Sabrina.” A mortal boy says. You can’t help but feel a tinge of repulsion at the word ‘mortal’ despite being half one yourself.

“About time you got home.” You say to Sabrina when she walks in the door, a smile on her face.

“It’s not that late.” She rolls her eyes. “Look what Harvey gave me!” She grins, her pale cheeks now a soft pink with excitement, as she shows you a necklace.

“It’s beautiful!” You say. You don’t really care, but you like making your sister happy.

“You’re a horrible liar.” She sighs happily as the two of you walk upstairs to your shared bedroom. “Where are the aunties?”

“Already in bed. I told them I’d watch for you and let them know how late you were.” You smile a bit.

“How late was I?” Sabrina asks, now somewhat worried about facing Aunt Zelda's wrath.

“I’m not sure,” your smile turns into a smirk “my watch appears to have died not long after the aunties went to bed.” Sabrina rolls her eyes in playful relief. The two of you enter your room. You, already in your pajamas, sit on your bed as Sabrina begins to change out of her clothes.

“Why don’t you just use magic to change?” You ask.

“There’s something interesting about the mundane.” She shrugs as she tugs off her shirt.

“How was your date with the mortal?” You ask.

“It wasn’t a date. It was a movie with friends.” She replies.

“Then why didn’t your friends bring you home?” You tease. Sabrina gives you an exacerbated look. “And why didn’t they come to tell you they loved you?”

“You were spying again!” Sabrina says with a smile as she tosses her shirt at you.

“Of course, I was. What else am I supposed to do after Aunt Hilda, Aunt Zelda, and Ambrose go to bed?”

“Something normal? Maybe you should try to make some friends instead of staying in the house all day.”

“There’s no point in it, Sabrina. I mean all that’s out there are mortals and in a few days we won’t be allowed to have meaningful relationships with mortals.”

“You sound like Aunt Zelda.” She 

“She’s right though. There isn’t a point in trying to make friends when we’re just going to have to leave them behind.”

“Dad didn’t leave Mom behind.” She says. The two of you fall silent as you struggle to remember your parents. Every day it seems that the memories you have of them became foggier and foggier even though the only memories you have are just stories you've been told about them.

“Let’s just get some rest.” You say with a sigh as you turn off the lamp by your bed and crawl under the covers. Sabrina quietly gets dressed and does the same, leaving the light by the vanity on, something the two of you have done since you were children. You stay awake for hours, unable to sleep. Suddenly you hear Sabrina gasp, waking from a nightmare. You watch as she gets out of her bed and walks to the vanity. She looks at the calendar and seems to be counting the days until the two of you turn sixteen and have your Dark Baptism. She crosses off one of the days on the calendar and looks at your parents’ wedding picture before walking to one of the windows. Suddenly, you hear a crash and sit up and turn on the lamp by your bed.

“What was that?” You ask Sabrina. You look at the broken window. 

“The bat broke it.” She mumbled, startled. You follow her gaze to see a bat on the floor, withering in pain. Sabrina silently picks up a large book, one of the books you had been studying, and slowly moves toward the bat. “Absent omen!” She whispers before slamming the book on the bat.

“I was studying that book.” You whine in disgust. Sabrina is quiet as she repairs the window with her magic.

“Is it dead?” You ask. “It had to have been going really fast to break the window like that, too fast for a bat.” You say more to yourself than to your sister.

“It seems like a bad omen.” She replies. “I’ll see if the aunties will let me bury it tomorrow.” She takes a shoe box from the closet and cleans up the remains of the bat. She sets the box by the window before climbing back into bed. You turn off your light. You don’t fall asleep easily, too worried about the bat and the idea of it being a bad omen, but when you do fall asleep, you dream of your mother and father.

The sound of Sabrina’s alarm clock wakes you. You hate that damn alarm clock. Not everyone has to get up at six forty-five in the morning to get ready for mortal school. Some people study independently at home and can sleep as late as they please, or until Aunt Zelda decides its time to be awake. You lie in bed as Sabrina moves about the room. 

“Rude!” You mumble to her as she turns on your lamp and the light burns your eyes. You hide your head under your pillow and begin to drift off again.

“It’s time to go down for breakfast,” Sabrina says, taking the blanket off you. The cold, October air sends a chill down your spine.

“Double rude!” You complain as you sit up and rub your eyes. You stand up and twirl, your pajamas turning into everyday clothes and your hair becoming brushed. “I hope we have cinnamon rolls.” 

“When do we ever have cinnamon rolls?” Sabrina laughs. 

“When I make them.” You sigh. “But a witch can dream.” She rolls her eyes as she grabs the shoebox. The two of you leave your room and walk into the kitchen. 

“Good morning, Aunties. Ambrose.” You and Sabrina say at the same time.

“Morning, darlings! How did you sleep?” Aunt Hilda asks, looking up from whatever she’s cooking or brewing. The two of you sit at the table where Aunt Zelda is reading a newspaper. You sit on Aunt Zelda’s right and Sabrina sits next to you, closest to Ambrose.

“Tempestuously by the sounds of it.” Aunt Zelda says as she lowers her newspaper to see the two of you.

“Now that you mention it, Aunt Z, I did wake up once or twice,” Sabrina says. “It’s an exciting time, in more ways than one.” She touches the necklace the mortal boy gave her.

“I remember the week before my Dark Baptism. It felt as if my real life were finally beginning.” She says proudly as she sets her newspaper on the table and folds one arm over her chest. “I barely slept.” She adds before taking a drag of her cigarette. You never understood why Aunt Zelda used a fancy cigarette holder, but it completed her look. 

“Rabbit’s feet under your pillow tonight, you’ll sleep like the dead.” Aunt Hilda says as she rubs both of your backs before returning to her concoction.

“Speaking of the dead,” Sabrina says as she pulls out the shoebox, “a bat flew into our room last night. Smashed through one of our windows.”

“Oh, want me to bring it back?” Ambrose asks somewhat excitedly as he looks up from the book he had been reading.

“No, Ambrose, we’ll have none of your necromancy.” Aunt Zelda says quickly and sternly.

“Can I bring it back?” You ask with a small smile. Aunt Zelda glares at you without answering. 

“It is okay if I bury it in the garden?” Sabrina asks, ignoring you.

“Yes, as you wish,” Aunt Hilda says as she walks towards the two of you with two jars, “you can bury it in the pet cemetery by the sundial, there’s room there.” She opens the jars and sets on in front of each of you. You look at the blue gritty looking liquid. 

“Oh, wait, what’s this?” Sabrina asks in interest.

“Yes, what is this?” You ask with more disgust than interest knowing that you would have to drink it. 

“Before you can be baptized, the temple of your body needs to be purified, cleansed of its toxins.” Aunt Zelda says before taking another drag of her cigarette.

“This is actually milk and eggs and rosemary and agrimony and a cupful of vanilla and a pinch of John the Conqueror root and tannis.” Aunt Hilda says. “And other herbs from my garden.” She adds quickly. “Drink up, darlings.”

“Don’t do it, cousins,” Ambrose says as he clears his throat.

“Ambrose!” Aunt Zelda says sternly. “Girls, you need to pick familiars before your dark baptism.” She says, turning her attention to the two of you as she tosses a heavy book on the table. “The Council sent the registry.” She leans in close to the two of you. “I’ve, uh, indicated a few suitable options.” She opens the book to reveal different images of animals. “Now, there’s a very handsome hedgehog, a noble-looking owl, Vinegar Tom would happily welcome another dog.” She smiles to her familiar, who stares at you all from his basket.

“Can I get the owl?” You ask. “They’re such fascinating birds, they’re strong and wise and seem to know everything under the stars. They have a look that seems to pierce the soul like they're studying you and learning everything they can about you.”

“I used to think the same thing about you and your father.” Aunt Hilda mumbles more to herself than anyone else.

“About that, Aunt Z, instead of picking a familiar out of a book, which is so, I don’t know, dehumanizing,”

“Familiars are goblins who have taken on the shape of animals to better serve their witch masters.” Aunt Zelda interrupts. “There’s nothing human about them.”

“But I’ve been practicing a summoning spell I found in the Demonomicon, and what if I put it out there that I’m looking for a familiar, and see if anyone wants to volunteer?” You sigh, another morning battle between Aunt Zelda and Sabrina.

“I think it’s a charming idea.” Aunt Hilda chuckles. Aunt Zelda gives Aunt Hilda an exasperated look.

“Aren’t feral familiars dangerous?” You ask.

“No, just improper.” Aunt Zelda sighs. “What about your baptismal name? Have you settled on one yet?” She asks Sabrina more than she does you.

“I still want the owl.” You mumble to yourself.

“I have, as a matter of fact.” Sabrina smiles proudly as your comment is ignored. “Edwina Diana. Edwina, which is almost Edward, to honor my father, and Diana, to honor my mother. And not just to honor them, to be closer to them. To have them with me as I walk the Path of Night.” Sabrina says dramatically as you roll your eyes.

“I wasn’t gonna cry.” Aunt Hilda croaks, a sucker for sentiment. “a-and I just, I just wish your mum and dad were here to see this, to see the two of you.”

“Me too, Auntie,” Sabrina says sympathetically.

“They would be so proud of you,” she sniffs, “they would be so proud of the young women you’ve become.”

“Correction, Hilda, they’d be so proud of the young witches they are becoming.” Aunt Zelda says proudly. Sabrina is quiet for a moment.

“Alright, girls, drink up.” Aunt Hilda says, motioning for the two of you to drink the liquid in the jars.

“Such strange cinnamon rolls.” Sabrina teases you.

“Shut up.” You mumble as you pick up the jar and smell the liquid inside. You don’t like it one bit.

“Cinnamon rolls?” Aunt Hilda asks somewhat confused.

“Last one to finish has to bury the bat!” Sabrina smirks as she begins drinking the liquid. You do the same, just barely managing to finish before she did.

“Hah,” you gasp, “you have to bury your bad omen.” You shiver as you realize just how horrible the liquid tastes. Sabrina laughs as she grabs her box and heads outside. You stand up and take both the empty jars to the sink as Ambrose follows Sabrina outside.

“Have you decided on a name yet, Y/N?” Aunt Zelda finally asks you.

“Yes, actually I wanted to talk to the two of you about that.” You say as you sit back down at the table. Aunt Hilda joins you, sitting opposite you.

“You haven’t decided yet?” Aunt Hilda asks.

“No, I have. But I wanted to know if the two of you approved of the name first.” You reply. 

“What is it?”

“I was thinking of naming myself after the two of you. Sabrina was more attached to Mother and Father than I was. I do miss them, but I barely remember them. You guys have been here for us when we needed you. The two of you raised us. You feel more like my parents than my parents do.” You blurt out. Aunt Zelda and Aunt Hilda look at you in silence. Aunt Zelda is trying to hide a shocked look on her face that appears when you mention not remembering your parents. 

“What you decide to name yourself is your decision, but we’d be honored if you chose to name yourself after us.” Aunt Hilda says. You nod, somewhat disappointed. You had hoped they’d be as excited as when Sabrina said she was going to name herself after your parents.

“I’m going to work on my studies.” You say as you get up from the table and leave. You walk into the study and close the door behind you. You look at all the books on the shelves that line the walls, they make you feel at peace. You walk to the fireplace and snap your fingers, summoning a fire to warm the room. You take a book off the desk and sit in one of the leather armchairs and lose yourself in the knowledge of magic and the world. Sabrina has her mortal schooling where she is told what to learn, when to learn it, and how to learn it while you have your own schooling, where you learn what you want, when you want to learn it, and how you want to learn it. You believe yourself to be more successful than your twin in the magical world, but when it comes to the mortal world, she knows much more than you do. You rarely leave the house except to go to the woods or to fetch something for Ambrose or one of the Aunties. You study the books after deciding on one that was a brilliant shade of violet, testing out some of the smaller spells. You learn to change the color of the flames you summon and how to change the color of your eyes at will. You also learn how to transform yourself into different animals. There’s a knock on the study door as it slowly creaks open.

“I’m going to the woods to summon a familiar. You want to come?” Sabrina asks.

“Sure.” You shrug. “I’ll catch up with you, I want to put out that fire.” You smile. She smiles back as she closes the door. As you snap your fingers and the now blue flames die, you get a brilliant idea. You decide to turn yourself into a wolf and scare Sabrina in the woods. You wait in the study for a few moments to make sure she has a good head start on you and won’t see you go into the woods. Then you slowly walk into the woods and transform yourself into a silver wolf. You almost make your eyes red but decide that it would be too much. You smell Sabrina’s perfume and quietly walk towards the source of the scent. 

“And now, spirits, we will wait.” You hear Sabrina say. You watch her from behind a tree. 

“A summoning spell, Sabrina? Calling forth a familiar? Then you are being baptized.” Three girls about your age appear in front of you, unaware of your presence as they walk toward your sister.

“Prudence, Dorcas, Agatha.” Sabrina greets them with unease. You remember biting one of them many years ago when you and Sabrina were young. You smile thinking back upon that small victory. 

“Well, well, well and are we to assume that means you and your twin be transferring to the Academy of Unseen Arts as well?” Prudence asks haughtily as the three of them start walking around Sabrina. 

“That’s the plan,” Sabrina says, watching them.

“That’s unfortunate. We don’t want half-breeds at the academy.”

“And who, exactly, are you calling half-breeds?” Sabrina asks.

“Isn’t that what you and your sister are? Half-witch, half-mortal? Stay with your own kind. You don’t want what happened to your mother and father to happen to you.” She threatens.

“What did you say?”

“The accident that took their lives,” Dorcas says.

“It would be tragic if a similar one befell you,” Agatha adds. 

“I’m not going to be bated or bullied by you. Not in the woods and not that the academy.” Sabrina says bravely.

“Stubborn mutt,” Prudence says. The three girls begin chanting in Latin. You recognize the words but can’t place what spell they’re part of.

“What are you doing? A curse? You’re cursing me?” Sabrina asks. At the word curse, you pounce, attacking Prudence. But before you can attack her, she and her sisters disappear, but not before their laughter fills the forest. You snap and growl at the air, still feeling their presence. You look at your sister and see blood dripping from her nose. You stare at her, waiting to see her reaction.

“Succubitches,” Sabrina mumbles before running off, seeming to forget the wolf before her. You stand in silence, watching your sister disappear from view. You slowly make your way back to the house, returning to your human form. The air feels calmer as you leave the forest. You decide to avoid the forest for a while with the Weird Sisters making an appearance. It is only a matter of time before Prudence comes to get revenge from that lovely scar you left. As the house comes into view, you remember your Dark Baptism and the name you chose.

“Where have you been?” Ambrose asks as you walk in the door.

“Places.” You say, not wanting to tell him of your adventure. You didn’t really want to talk to anyone anyway.

“I see.” He says, sensing your mood. “What did Madams Jekyll and Hyde say about your baptismal name?”

“They didn’t like it.” You reply.

“Are you going to choose a new name?”

“I am.”

“Why?”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s your name, not theirs.” He says.

“That’s precisely why I’m going to chose a new name.” You say with a nod as you walk past him.

“If you need me, I’ll be tending to a new body.” He calls to you as you walk into the study, closing the door behind you. You make the flames return in the fireplace, this time they’re red as blood. You pull a book off one of the shelves and begin to thumb through the pages, looking at different names and their meanings. You look for hours, going back and forth between studying magic and looking at names. Not long after you hear Sabrina come home, you decide on a name. Mara. Satisfied, you leave the study to see Aunt Hilda, Aunt Zelda, and Sabrina in the kitchen. Aunt Hilda hands Sabrina an egg.

“Break an egg, please, miss.” Aunt Hilda says. “You may want to do this too.” She nods to you. “Better safe than sorry.”

“You weren’t in the forest when Sabrina was cursed, were you?” Aunt Zelda asks, her eyes widening.

“I was.” You reply. 

“Have you been feeling alright? Do you feel tired or weak?” She asks. 

“I feel fine.” You mumble. Aunt Hilda laughs sarcastically as Sabrina cracks the egg.

“I was right. That is a blood curse. Oh, it’s lingering.” She says. “So, untreated, that is gonna eat slowly away at your health, your will, and your sanity. So, a regimen of salt water baths, reversing candles for a couple of weeks, and that will do the trick, I think. Alright, off you go.” She says, unaffected by the fact that someone tried to kill your sister with a curse.

“Go break an egg.” Aunt Zelda says somewhat sternly as she gently pushes you toward Aunt Hilda. You reluctantly take an egg from the carton and break it into the bowl.

“It’s red too.” You say, staring at the perfectly normal egg.

“It’s what?” Aunt Zelda says. You could almost hear the breath catch in her throat.

“It is not.” Aunt Hilda sighs. “It’s perfectly fine. They must not have cursed Y/N.” Aunt Hilda says. Aunt Zelda glares at you for scaring her as she walks to Aunt Hilda.

“Aunties?” Sabrina interrupts. “The Weird Sisters said something about Mom and Dad.”

“What did they say about your mother and father?” Aunt Zelda asks.

“Their accident. They were almost implying that it wasn’t an accident.” Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda look at each other.

“Well, that’s just poppycock.” Aunt Zelda finally says.

“Yeah.” Aunt Hilda adds.

“Your father and mother were flying to Italy. Edward was giving a lecture at the Vatican when their plane went down. Tragically.” You don’t like the way she says ‘tragically’. “Now get up upstairs and into a bath like your Aunt Hilda says.” Sabrina nods and then leaves the room, leaving you alone with Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda. 

“I’ve decided that my baptismal name will be Mara.” You state before walking out of the room. You didn’t want to give them time to respond or ask for the reason why you chose that name. Not that they would have cared. Sabrina is the favorite twin lately.

“I need your help,” Sabrina says to you as you enter your room. 

“With?” You ask.

“A spell.”

“When?”

“Midnight.”

“Okay.” You shrug. Sabrina looks at you strangely, usually you have a lot more questions, but then leaves the room to take her bath. You fall onto your bed and close your eyes. You feel exhausted from today's events and from your terrible night’s sleep. 

“So, you chose the name Mara?” Aunt Hilda asks as she enters your room.

“Yep.” You reply, not opening your eyes or sitting up.

“What happened to being Y/N Zelda Hilda Spellman or Y/N Hilda Zelda Spellman?” She asks as she sits on your bed and plays with your hair.

“What does it matter? I’m not going to have some amazing name to be proud of like Sabrina Edwina Diana Spellman. I’m just going to Sabrina Edwina Diana Spellman’s younger twin all my life anyway.”

“Do you feel overshadowed?” She asks, her voice full of sympathy and understanding.

“I feel like it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what my name is, what I study, who I am, if I’m alive. I’m always going to be Sabrina’s twin. And this whole baptism thing proves it. All you and Aunt Zelda seem to focus on is Sabrina being baptized. But we’re twins, Aunt Hilda.” You open your eyes and sit up. “I’m being baptized too. I’m going to be sixteen too. What makes her baptism more important than mine if we’re identical twins?”

“It’s because she’s older, love. She may be just barely older, but she’s still older. The oldest has a special place with the Dark Lord. You’re more confident about being baptized than Sabrina is, too. We don’t have to worry about you, you’ve been preparing for this your whole life, but Sabrina hasn’t. She’s been off making mortal friends and going to mortal school.”

“That’s her own fault. She’s the one that decided to go and be with mortals.” You reply. 

“This isn’t about what she decided to do. This is about what is going on with you.”

“I just want some kind of approval. I want someone to tell me that I’m doing the right thing and be proud of the choices I make. I want to be separate. I want to be Y/N Spellman, not Sabrina’s younger twin. Not one of the Spellman Twins or anything like that.” 

“I understand, darling. It’s hard being the younger sister. But you’ll get through it. Believe it or not, when you get older, you’ll miss your sister after a while when you two grow up and part ways.”

“You and Aunt Zelda have been together for hundreds of years. When are you two going to part ways?” Aunt Hilda is silent for a moment.

“When we feel it’s time for us to do so.” She says slowly, avoiding your eyes as she says it. “I know you feel forgotten, but after you and Sabrina are baptized, everything will go back to normal and you’ll forget all about it.” You nod, hating how she is always right when it comes to things like this. “Did you learn anything new today, love? You were studying for a long time today.” 

“I did, actually.” You reply as you begin to tell her about being a wolf and changing your eye color.


	2. Chapter 1 Part 2

“Hey,” Sabrina says quickly as she walks into your room not long after Aunt Hilda leaves, “are you ready? It’s almost time.” You nod and follow Sabrina upstairs where Ambrose is waiting for the two of you.

“This isn’t like you, cousin, using witchcraft to settle personal vendettas,” Ambrose says with a smile as he looks at the picture Sabrina hands him.

“I know, it sounds more like me.” You smirk.

“These are desperate times, guys,” Sabrina says seriously. Although it’s hard to take her seriously when she’s standing in her pajamas and soaking wet from her bath. “Now remember, I don’t want to kill Principal Hawthorne, I just need to give him a good scare.”

“That’s no fun.” You interrupt.

“Ms. Wardwell told me he’s terrified of spiders.” She smiles as she ignores you.

“Oh, that’s easy, then,” Ambrose says as she stands up and walks towards you. “It’s lucky that Aunt Hilda keeps them as her familiars.” He hands Sabrina the picture and walks out of the room, returning with Aunt Hilda’s cages of spiders. “Are you sure you don’t want to kill him? Because we could do that.” He says with a hopeful smile. 

“Nope. I just need him to take a day or two off from school.”

“Right. We’ll only mildly traumatize him then.” Ambrose says, almost a little disappointed. He places the picture into one of the spider cages. The three of you close your eyes as you and Sabrina join hands. The two of you discovered that as both twins and half-witches, your powers increase when both of you participle in the same spell. “Spider, O Spider, pray, why do you spin your pretty white web so fine and so thin? To catch fat flies and make them into pies.”

“Spider, O spider, pray, do you not see? Here comes a big, buzzing, blundering bee. He’ll spoil your fine net while you fume and you fret, but no mercy your grant and no mercy you’ll get.” You and Sabrina chant at the same time. You open your eyes and look at Ambrose and Sabrina.

“Well, now that that’s done, I suggest we all get some rest,” Ambrose says with a smile. “I’ll put the spiders away.” You and Sabrina leave his room.

“I think that went really well.” You say. You smile at the mischievous smirk on Sabrina’s face as she nods. The two of you walk into your room and Sabrina shuts the door behind you. You freeze as you feel the coldness in the room. Sabrina looks at the open window you know wasn’t open when you left. Sabrina goes to close the window.

“Oh, no. What now?” She says.

“What did you do now?” You ask worriedly.

“Sabrina!” Something whispers as she slowly closes the window. The two of you jump. You’re unsure of what to do. You want to get Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda, but you don’t want to leave Sabrina alone with whatever crawled through the open window.

“W-who are you?” Sabrina asks. “Show yourself.” She tries to sound brave.

“I heard you calling in the woods,” A dark creature with long fingers and tail peeks from a corner of the room. “and I came.” It said before turning to a cat with a meow. 

“Aw!” Sabrina smiles. “Such a pretty kitty!” She scoops the creature into her arms. “What’s your name?” You stare silently at the two of them, unsure if you should be upset or not by scare the creature caused. Sabrina dotes on the cat as you prepare for bed. All the spellcasting you have done today wore you out. Before Sabrina finishes talking to her new familiar, you are asleep. You wake up to the sound of rain hitting the window. You look at the bed next to yours and see that Sabrina is gone. You smell Aunt Hilda making something in the kitchen. After a few moments of contemplating staying in bed longer or not, you finally get up, summon a new outfit, and head downstairs.

“I don’t understand you, niece.” You hear Aunt Zelda say as you walk into the kitchen. “You’d rather a feral familiar than one bred for service?”

“Salem doesn’t serve me, Aunt Z. We’re a partnership. He’ll protect me, I’ll protect him.” She defends herself as she butters a piece of toast. You sit next to her.

“Drink up, darlings.” Aunt Hilda says, placing two new jars in front of you. “I put a bit of cinnamon in it this time.”

“Probably won’t make it taste better.” You think to yourself. 

“And why did you name him Salem of all things?” Aunt Zelda sighs.

“You named it Salem?” You ask.

“I didn’t.” Sabrina rolls her eyes. “He named himself Salem.”

“At least you have your familiar now and you’re purifying yourself. Yeah, you’re almost ready for your baptism.” Aunt Hilda says, trying to lighten the mood in the room.

“About that,” Sabrina says, pausing nervously, “So, I’m in the middle of getting this club started at school.”

“Club? What kind of club?” Aunt Zelda asks as she peels the shell off an egg.

“Women protecting women. You know, sort of like a coven.” You shake your head slightly. Even you know that comparing mortal things to witch things isn’t a good choice when trying to convince Aunt Zelda of anything. Aunt Zelda raises her eyebrows at the word coven, but you can tell she isn’t really listening to Sabrina anymore. “Anyway, I was wondering if we could maybe, possibly, postpone my baptism a little bit.” She says quickly.

“Postpone it?” Aunt Zelda says, taking her attention away from the egg.

“Oh dear.” Aunt Hilda mumbles.

“Here we go. Another morning battle between Sabrina and Aunt Zelda.” You think to yourself as you roll your eyes.

“Sabrina, you cannot postpone your sixteenth birthday, especially not when it falls on the eclipsing of a blood moon which only occurs once every sixty-six years.” 

“If it’s just about a club, dear-” Aunt Hilda says softly as she goes to Aunt Zelda’s side and places a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s not, Aunt Hilda,” Sabrina says, matching her tone. “There’s also the Harvey of it all. We recently took things to the next level.” You run a hand through your hair, not wanting to hear this conversation. You were forced to have ‘the talk’ with Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda when Sabrina first starting dating mortals and it was as uncomfortable for them as it was for you. 

“He hasn’t defiled you, has he? Witch law forbids novitiates from being anything less than virginal.” Aunt Zelda states.

“Oh, wow,” Ambrose says, taking a piece of bacon from the table and rushing back to his corner of the kitchen. 

“Aunt Zelda!” Sabrina gasps. “Not that it’s anyone’s business, but no.”

“Actually, as our guardians, it is their business.” You say flatly. “For health reasons, it’s also the business of the physician.” Sabrina glares at you.

“Praise Satan.” Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda sigh.

“However, now that you bring it up, I admit, I have reservations about saving myself for the Dark Lord.” Sabrina states. “Why does he get to decide what I do with my body?”

“Because it is Witch Law. Covenant.” Aunt Zelda states as though it were common knowledge, because in your family, it is common knowledge.

“Okay, but why? And if you don’t know, maybe I can talk to someone before my baptism, someone who can help me understand these things so I can make an educated choice.”

“Choice? It is our sacred duty and honor to serve the Dark ord. The extraordinary, delicious gifts he bestows on us in return for signing his book. And you, you would deny him that?” Aunt Zelda looks at the two of you as if Sabrina spoke for you as well as herself.

“It’s my name, Aunt Zelda.”

“We all signed the book, and proudly, I might add.”

“I want to sign the book.” You mumble.

“This is your mother’s influence.” Aunt Zelda says as she dramatically stands up from the table.

“Zelda, calm down. Your blood pressure.” Aunt Hilda sternly reminds her. A look of panic crosses Sabrina’s face.

“This is your fault too.” Aunt Zelda spits. “We should have homeschooled her like Y/N, as is our custom.”

“Sabrina, do you not want to join the Church of Night as a full member, my love?” Aunt Hilda asks gently.

“I think so, I just don’t know why I have to give up everything in my life that’s human to do it.”

“Witch law. The Path of Night or the Path of Light.” Aunt Zelda says.

“But not both,” Sabrina says with Aunt Zelda as she rises from her chair just as dramatically as Aunt Zelda. You sigh with frustration as you quickly force down Aunt Hilda’s concoction. The cinnamon doesn’t make it taste better, if anything it makes it worse.

“And yet, our father, a warlock, married our mother, and she was human.”

“And look how well that turned out for everyone!” You yell, finally having enough. You slam the empty jar down on the table as you stand. “It turned out so amazingly well didn’t it?” You look into her eyes. “They have two lovely daughters they got to see grow up, they remained respected in the church, they had a perfect life and so did their sisters and daughters. Oh wait, Father almost got kicked out of the church and then they died. And then Father’s sisters were forced to care for his two orphaned daughters so instead of just our lives being messed up, we also had to ruin our aunts’ lives! Yes, Sabrina, Father’s choice to marry Mother turned out so fucking well for everyone!” There’s silence as everyone stares at you. “Why can’t you just accept that we aren’t supposed to be here? Why can’t you understand that what Mother and Father did was wrong even if you want to believe with all your little heart that it wasn’t?” Sabrina is silent, too stunned to speak. You shake your head in disappointment. “I’ll be in the study.” You say as you leave the room.

“This is what they wanted for you.” You hear Aunt Zelda say quietly. You don’t hear the rest of the conversation as you close the study door behind you. You look at all the books but don’t feel the same feeling of calm as you did yesterday. You know today will not be a productive day of studying. You just can't understand why your sister held your parents in such high regard. They did something wrong. They broke witch law. Your existence breaks witch law. You and Sabrina are proof of their disregard for the law. You sigh as you collapse into a chair. You stare at the ceiling and daydream, trying to force yourself to accomplish something, but never succeeding. After a few hours, you hear Ambrose walk past the study followed by Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda’s footsteps moments later. It was unusual for the three of them to do something together. You decide to follow them and see what is going on. You follow them into the embalming room.

“It’s a birthmark.” Aunt Zelda says as the three of them look at a corpse. 

“Except I poked it, and” Ambrose trails off.

“Oh, that doesn’t bleed.” Aunt Hilda finishes his thought. “That’s a witch’s mark, then.”

“Or it’s simply that his blood started to settle in his buttocks.” Aunt Zelda says quickly.

“But if it’s a witch’s mark and Connor here was murdered…”

“A witch hunter? Is that possible?” Aunt Hilda asks worriedly. The idea of witch hunters being nearby made you make a mental note to learn protection spells and charms when you returned to the study.

“Might be worth bringing up to the Council,” Ambrose whispers. 

“Yet another reason the twins need to join the Church of the Night. So they’re protected. Witches without covens are easy pickings.” She sighs.

“I’ve been praying on that, Zelda,” Aunt Hilda says, “and I just think that if she wants to talk to someone, an outside opinion-“

“Who would you have her talk to, Hilda? The Dark Lord himself?” Aunt Zelda laughs to herself. You grow bored of the conversation and return to the study. You begin to practice different types of protections and even learn a spell that can protect the grounds of the house, but you don’t think you are strong enough to cast it by yourself, you need Sabrina to learn it and cast it with you. You begin to study witch hunters and try to see if there is a way or a spell to determine if someone is a witch hunter. You become lost in your research.

“Y/N, there’s someone I want you to meet.” Aunt Zelda says as she opens the study door. You put down one of the many books you had been studying and follow Aunt Zelda. You notice that it’s already dark outside. Aunt Zelda takes you to the parlor where a familiar man sits in a chair by the fireplace as Aunt Hilda lights a fire. The room is tense and uncomfortable. You don’t want to enter but do so anyway. Aunt Zelda hates it when you or Sabrina misbehave for company.

“Is this the child?” The man asks.

“I’m a child.” You say with uncertainty.

“No, Your Excellency. This is our niece, Y/N, Sabrina’s younger twin sister.” Aunt Zelda says proudly.

“Do you know who I am, child?” He asks you.

“You’re Father Blackwood, correct?” You ask. “I apologize if I’m mistaken, my eyes are a bit tired from researching today.” You add.

“Yes, I am.” He smiles a little. A proud smile flashes across Aunt Zelda’s face.

“I read about you, there’s a book about High Priests in the study. You’re a very influential man, Father. It’s an honor to make your acquaintance.” You say as you follow Aunt Zelda to the couch opposite Father Blackwood.

“We let her teach herself, she’s such a smart and wise witch that Hilda and I felt it would be beneficial for her to teach herself than us teaching her.” Aunt Zelda smiles as she wraps an arm around your shoulder.

“What have you been studying?” Father Blackwood asks.

“Lately I’ve been studying whatever interests me as sort of a break from studying specific fields. Yesterday it was just simple things like changing the color of fire or turning into a wolf. Today I was learning protection spells and charms and I was also studying about witch hunters.” Aunt Hilda gives you a confused look as she sits next to you on the couch, you feel trapped sitting between Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda.

“Why witch hunters?” He asks.

“I overheard Aunt Zelda say that Sabrina and I would be safer if we joined the Church of Night. I don’t know if Sabrina will actually do that and I want to be able to protect her. And someone from the Church of Night isn’t here every second of every day to protect us, so I want to be able to protect my family if I need to.” Father Blackwood seems to be thinking about what you told him.

“You know, child, you remind me of your father.”

“My father?” You say quietly.

“Aunties? Ambrose? Can we please have a family meeting? I’ve made a decision about my baptism.” Sabrina says as she walks in the front door, taking the attention off you.

“Sabrina, we’re in here.” Aunt Hilda calls to her. Sabrina quietly enters the parlor. You can tell that she also senses the discomfort in the room.

“Is this the child?” Father Blackwood asks.

“It is, Your Excellency.” Aunt Zelda says.

“This is our other niece, Sabrina.”

“The firstborn.” Aunt Zelda adds.

“Oh my children, you have no idea how special you are, do you? How you’ve been chosen.” He says to both of you.

“Sorry, do I know you?”

“Honestly.” Aunt Zelda scolds. “Forgive her, Father, she knows not what she says.” 

“Sabrina, we are being honored tonight.” Aunt Hilda says softly. “This is Faustus Blackwood. He’s High Priest of the Church of Night. Dark Lord Satan’s representative on Earth.” She adds.

“Your aunts and sister tell me you’re having doubts about your baptism. That you may, in fact, not be signing your name in the Book of the Beast.”

“Uh-” Sabrina says before Father Blackwood beings speaking again.

“No, no, no. That cannot be. That must not be. So, let us see what I can do to convince you.” He says as his hand wraps around his cane.


	3. Chapter 2 Part 1

Everyone watches Father Blackwood as he rubs a hand on his face and bites his fingernail. 

“Now, your aunties tell me you have questions about your baptism and such.” Father Blackwood says.

“I do,” Sabrina says, her voice is quiet, just above a whisper, “but I'm not sure where to begin.” Sabrina glances at Aunt Zelda and Aunt Hilda but avoids your gaze.

“Allow me.” Father Blackwood says. “A witch's dark baptism is our most sacred unholy sacrament. The oldest of our rites. We've been performing them for centuries. Our Dark Lord's book, the Book of the Beast, is the most ancient tome in existence.”

“Why is everyone whispering?” You think to Sabrina. She glances at you but doesn’t respond.

“About that. If I sign my name in the Book of the Beast, does that mean I'm giving the Dark Lord dominion over my soul?” Sabrina asks Father Blackwood.

“That's one interpretation, but it's largely a symbolic gesture, as rituals in most religions are.”

“That doesn’t sound right.” You think to Sabrina, who again, ignores you.

“What else?” Father Blackwood asks a little too quickly for your liking.

“Let's say I do sign my name in his book, doesn't that mean he can call on me? To do his bidding?”

“All religions demand some sacrifice. But signing your name is more like a pledge, let's say. That you'll abide by his commandments. Do you know your Thirteen Commandments?”

“We've taught them to both girls.” Aunt Zelda says.

“They’ve learned them by heart.” Aunt Hilda adds.

“I'm not an evil person, Father,” Sabrina says seriously. Father Blackwood stares at Sabrina intently for a moment before erupting into laughter along with Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda. 

“I am glad to hear it. Neither am I. Neither are your aunts.” You can’t help but notice that he doesn’t mention you or Ambrose. For a moment, the tension in the room dies but is quickly revived when Sabrina speaks again.

“But the Devil-“

“The Dark Lord, yes?” Father Blackwood corrects.

“He is the embodiment of evil.”

“Incorrect.” Father Blackwood says, his demeanor changing from somewhat calm and chilling to fierce and frightening. 

“Actually, that’s correct but it depends entirely on what religion you’re referring to.” You think to Sabrina.

“He is the embodiment of free will. Good. Evil. Those words matter to the False God, but the Dark Lord is beyond such precepts.”

“What about Hell? I don't want to go there when I die.” Sabrina says, obviously shaken by Father Blackwood’s words.

“First of all, if you accept the Dark Lord's gifts, you won't die, not for a very long time. Second of all, Hell is for mortals. In exchange for their service and devotion, witches are exempt from the eternal flames of damnation. Really, what's needed here is a fundamental shift in thinking.”

“What about us?” You interrupt. Aunt Zelda gently jabs you with her elbow.

“What about you?” Father Blackwood asks, turning his attention to you.

“Sabrina and I are half mortal. When we do sign the Dark Lord’s Book, we will have the powers of full witches, but we are still, at the basic level, half mortal. It is in our biology and our genes. Does that mean half of our soul goes to Hell or will there be some sort of exception to this rule? You say that Hell is for mortals, not witches. But Sabrina and I aren’t full witches and we aren’t full mortals. Does that mean we will have some kind of purgatory-like place because we technically can’t be in Hell and we technically can’t go wherever witches go when they die? And if so, does that mean we will never see our aunts or Ambrose again since they’re full witches?” Father Blackwood stares at you for a moment.

“I’m sure if you studied the Dark Lord’s Satanic Bible and prayed to the Dark Lord, you will have your answer.” He says calmly.

“But I’m not asking the Dark Lord, Father. I’m asking you, a High Priest like our father.” You want to say to him, but instead, you just nod. 

“That’s a good question.” Sabrina thinks to you.

“I just thought of it.” You think back.

“I see the twins know how to communicate telepathically like most twin witches.” Father Blackwood interrupts the two of you. You both stare at him in shock.

“Yes, they’ve done it since they were small. They tried to hide it from us for years.” Aunt Zelda laughs. “It was their little secret, but we always knew.” Father Blackwood nods.

“That’s a wonderful sign of powerful witches, especially for them to do it at such a young age. Do you have any more questions?” He asks the two of you.

“What about my boyfriend?” Sabrina asks. You roll your eyes. “Why do I have to break up with him?”

“Your boyfriend, I assume, is mortal?” Sabrina nods. “There is an inherent incompatibility. Should you become a full witch, your human partner would age much faster than you.” 

“But we wouldn’t technically be full witches. We’ll never be full, purebred witches.” You think.

“My father married a mortal,” Sabrina argues.

“True, but he was High Priest of the Church of Night and was granted a special dispensation.”

“By whom?”

“The Dark Lord. Satan himself blessed the union of your warlock father and mortal mother, but even then, even then, it was not without controversy.” He says. You notice that he seems to be becoming frustrated and even agitated discussing your parents.

“Some girls at the Academy of Unseen Arts have suggested that our parents' deaths weren't accidental, that maybe they'd been murdered,” Sabrina says. 

“An inquiry was held. No malfeasance was detected. It was a terrible accident that befell your mother and father, but it was just that, an accident.” 

“Lastly,” Sabrina says, obviously not satisfied with that answer, “earlier today, I took a bite of a malum malus.”

“You did what?” Aunt Zelda asks. You make a mental note to research what a malum malus is. You glance at Ambrose, who seems to be trying to make himself smaller, but making it painfully obvious that he put the idea into Sabrina’s head.

“And the future it showed me was horrible.”

“The biting of a malum malus for prognostication of the future hasn't been recommended for decades. Specifically because of its wild inaccuracy. But if I may, girls, your father was one of the Church of Night's greatest thinkers. He wanted you two to follow in his footsteps. It's right that you have so many questions. My advice? Take your baptisms. Come to the Academy of Unseen Arts. Learn our history. Find answers to your questions. Challenge them. Make better answers. Make us stronger. Will you try, at least? And should it not be to your liking-”

“You'll let us leave the Church?” Sabrina asks.

“Free choice, child. That is the bedrock on which our Church is built.” There is a tense silence as Sabrina stares at Father Blackwood and Aunt Zelda stares at Sabrina. “But I do hope I'll see you both in the woods on Samhain. The moon is certain to be glorious.”

“They'll be there, Your Excellency.” Aunt Zelda says as she and Aunt Hilda stand. You stand with them, unsure of what to do. “With bells on, won't you, girls?”

“Yes, Aunt Zelda.” You say obediently as she places an arm around your shoulder.

“Looking forward to it,” Sabrina says quietly. Father Blackwood stand up from his chair.

“In that case,” he says, “if there's nothing else-”

“There is one thing, Your Excellency,” Ambrose says nervously.

“Yes?” He replies.

“There’s something downstairs I would like you to examine.” Ambrose leads Father Blackwood downstairs. You and Sabrina follow behind Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda. In the morgue, Ambrose wheels out a body. “What do you think this is, Your Excellency?”

“A witch's mark, without question.” Father Blackwood says, examining the corpse’s arm. “What about the boy's parents?”

“Oh, mortal. They adopted him, Father, they didn't know.” Aunt Hilda says.

“Poor boy. Alone in the world. Raised by mortals. Never baptized.” Father Blackwood turns his attention to you and Sabrina as you stand in the doorway. Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda follow his gaze. “Think of what he might've accomplished. Tragic, really.” Father Blackwood says before looking away from the two of you.

“His murder hasn't been solved,” Ambrose says quietly. “I've been checking the papers, the news. So, we've started to wonder if there might not be a witch-hunter in our midst.”

“Highly unlikely." 

“But possible.” Ambrose interrupts. Father Blackwood stares at Ambrose as though he were thinking of punishing him for interrupting.

“I'll speak to the Council, but I shouldn't think this is any more than what it appears to be.” Father Blackwood finally says before leaving the morgue.

“Alright, girls, it’s late. Time to get ready for bed.” Aunt Hilda says. You look at Aunt Zelda nervously.

“Don’t look at me. You heard your Aunt Hilda.” She says. You nod and follow Sabrina up the stairs and into your room. 

“That was… something.” You say.

“I’m not speaking to you. I’m still angry with you.” Sabrina says curtly.

“Okay.” You shrug as you close the bedroom door behind you. The two of you prepare for bed in silence.

“Are you two ready for bed?” Aunt Hilda asks as she walks into the room moments later.

“Yes, Auntie.” Sabrina nods.

“Yes.” You reply.

“He's a bit dramatic, isn't he? Father Blackwood? He was your father's mentor, you know. 

“But, then, Dad surpassed him.”

“Yeah.” She laughs as she sits on Sabrina’s bed. “Your father was incredibly charismatic, girls. People wanted to follow Edward, wherever he went. He was so handsome. He could've been a movie star if he'd chosen, like Cousin Montgomery. But no, he received the call early. When he was six years old, you know.” There was silence between the two.

“Aunt Hilda, did you ever have any doubts about your dark baptism?” Sabrina asks. Aunt Hilda pauses for a moment, breathing in deeply. You sit up in bed, wanting to hear what her reply will be.

“When I was your age, I signed my name in the Book of the Beast. I mean us girls didn't have any options back then. It's just simply what was done. Do I have regrets? You mustn't tell your Aunt Zelda this,” She pauses and takes a deep breath, “but some days, some nights I dream that I am walking into the Greendale Woods, in the peak of dry season with a lit torch in each hand so that I'd watch the whole forest burn, like so much kindling.” As she speaks, her voice becomes more aggressive and more assertive, like Aunt Zelda’s when she is furious, and her eyes started to glaze over. Suddenly, she gasps and you jump. “Have a lovely little sleep, my darlings.” She smiles at you. You stare at her with wide, frightened eyes. “Tuckity-tuck-tuck-tuck. Oh, there we go. This little piggy… we're a little bit old to do this.” She laughs to herself as she begins her ritual of tucking you and Sabrina in. You freeze as she tucks you in, still somewhat unsure of what to think or how to respond to her wanting to burn down the woods. It is so unlike Aunt Hilda that it sends shivers down your spine. She kisses your head and walks out of the room. 

The next morning, Sabrina wakes you like she does every morning she has to go to school, but she still doesn’t speak to you. She quickly heads downstairs while you are still making yourself presentable.

“You came by to talk comics?” You hear Sabrina ask someone as you walk down the stairs.

“Uh, no, I wanted to surprise you.” You hear a man that isn’t Ambrose say. You recognize it as Sabrina’s boyfriend and roll your eyes. You don’t like mortals in the house.

“And isn't it the loveliest surprise.” Aunt Zelda says flatly. 

“Good morning, everyone.” You say, walking past the mortal and smiling at Aunt Zelda.

“Um, also to ask your aunts, I, uh know you can't do anything on your actual birthday because you have plans,” The mortal says nervously.

“She does. Set in stone. Both girls do.” Aunt Zelda says.

“So I came by to see if we could celebrate the next day. Uh, Saturday. Go bowling, maybe. You and me and Susie and Roz. Your aunts and sister can come if they want.” You look at Aunt Zelda, trying to imagine such a high-class woman doing something as low class as bowling. 

“The day after my birthday. Would that even be possible?” Sabrina looks at Aunt Hilda.

“I think it's a marvelous idea.” Aunt Hilda smiles as she walks by carrying some plates.

“I do too,” Aunt Zelda says, surprising you, “but why don't we play it by ear, hmm?” She smiles before leaving the room. You follow behind her, leaving Aunt Hilda to deal with your twin and the mortal.

“Aunt Zelda, may I ask you something?” You say as you follow her into the parlor.

“There’s something I want to talk to you about first.” She says as she takes a seat by the fireplace that hasn’t been lit yet. With a snap of your fingers, you start a fire. She nods approvingly.

“You need to apologize to Sabrina for what you said about your mother and father. You insulted her, you insulted Edward and Diana, and you insulted Hilda and me.” Aunt Zelda is quiet for a moment as she takes a sip from her cup.

“Yes, Aunt Zelda.” You say obediently even though you don’t mean it and you don’t want to apologize.

“You were meant to be here.” She says sternly, staring into your eyes. “Despite what you may think, you and Sabrina were meant to be here. You were meant to be half witch and half mortal. You were meant to be born in the woods that night. And if Hilda and I didn’t want you or Sabrina to live with us, you wouldn’t be here. We chose to take the two of you in because we love you both and we have never once regretted it.”

“Thank you, Aunt Zelda.” You say, feeling guilty for blowing up at Sabrina yesterday.

“Now, what was it you wanted to ask me?”

“Oh, it was nothing. I just couldn’t think of a polite way to excuse myself from the mortal in the kitchen.” You smile.

“Maybe your studies for today should focus on communicating with mortals. You need to do that from time to time.” She smiles slightly.

“Yes, Aunt Zelda.” You sigh playfully. “I’ll go begin my studies.” You lie. You excuse yourself and leave the parlor. You walk into the study and instead of studying mortals, you pull a few books on mortals off the shelf, mark random places in them, leave some of the books on a desk, some on one of the end tables, and some in front of the bookshelf to make it look like you studied. You began trying to research what happened to half-witches when they died instead. The rules of what happens to a witch and what happens to a mortal just aren’t clear enough for you. Even though signing the Dark Lord’s Book would give you the power of a full witch and in theory make you a full witch, you would still be half-mortal technically. From what you have observed, the whole world operated on technicalities and loopholes. Signing the Dark Lord’s book won’t alter your genetics, at least you don’t think it would. A knock on the study door brings you out of your studies.

“Sabrina will be home soon, I saw her walking out of the woods.” Aunt Zelda says as she opens the door. You notice she has a shovel in her hand.

“Thank-you, Aunt Zelda.” You reply, setting down the book you had been reading. 

“Did you find an answer yet?” She knows you weren't studying mortals. 

“No, I haven’t.” You sigh. “I fear that the only way to get my answer is to die and see where my soul ends up.” 

“There are other ways to find answers than experimentation.” She says before walking away.

“Aunt Zelda,” you call to her, but she doesn’t hear you. You’ll have to ask about the shovel later. You walk out of the study and go into the kitchen to wait for Sabrina. She always goes there first because Aunt Hilda makes her a snack when she gets home from school. You don’t smell anything freshly made, which is unusual. Aunt Hilda always makes something. You look around the kitchen, but she’s not there. You sit at the table and wait for your sister.

“Where is Aunt Hilda?” She asks as she walks in the room a few moments later.

“I have no idea.” You shrug. “But I want to apologize for what I said the other day, about Mother and Father.”

“Okay.” She says.

“So, um, I’m sorry about what I said about Mom and Dad and about us and everything.” You say, stumbling through your apology.

“For the one who has an expansive vocabulary, you suck at apologies.” She smiles.

“I don’t have to apologize often, I’m usually right.” You smile back. “So, am I forgiven?”

“Only if you help me with something.”

“What is it this time? Are we torturing mortals again?”

“Yes, we are. And the Weird Sisters are helping. Some boys have been bullying Suzie and we’re going to make them stop. I want you to stand guard. How long can you be a wolf?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t tested it.” You shrug.

“The Weird Sisters and I will lead the boys to the coal mine and scare them, you stand guard to make sure no one finds us in there.”

“I love it. When do we depart for our adventure?”

“First we’ll get dressed and then get some food at the pizzeria. Then we’ll go get the boys.” She smiles.

“What are we wearing?”

“Matching red dresses.”

“You know I both love and hate dressing alike. It’s so cliché.” You say as you follow her upstairs. “It gives us that creepy effect, especially when we speak at the same time, but it’s just so overdone.”

“But they’re teenage boys, they’ll find the twin thing really hot.”

“Fine, but just this once. And I’m not touching the mortals.”

“Why do you hate mortals so much? You’re half mortal yourself.”

“It’s a rather complex thing, isn’t it? I dislike mortals but I’m half mortal. In theory, I dislike half of who I am.” You reply. “In reality, I hate all of who I am, both the mortal and the witch halves.” You think to yourself as you spin, making a red dress appear on your body. Sabrina does the same. 

“Aunt Hilda would love this,” Sabrina says.

“And Aunt Zelda would hate this.” You reply. When you were younger, Aunt Hilda always loved dressing the two of you up identically, as though being identical twins weren’t enough. Aunt Zelda, on the other hand, hated seeing you and Sabrina dressed alike. “So, what’s the plan?” You ask. 

“The Weird Sisters and I are going to lure the boys that have been harassing Suzie into the mines. We may need your help with that. Once we get them there, you’re going to stand guard as a wolf to make sure no one sneaks up on us while we’re in the mines.”

“That’s it?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I was kind of hoping for something more magic related.” You shrug. “I mean at least with the last mortal there was an incantation to recite.”

“You don’t even like incantations. You prefer spells that require concentration and deep thought.” Sabrina rolls her eyes. “Come on, we don’t want to waste too much time.” 

“Where are you two going?” Aunt Zelda asks as the two of you walk past the parlor. 

“We’re going out for pizza. Aunt Hilda usually makes us a snack and we can’t find her anywhere.” You reply as the two of you stand in the doorway.

“You’re willingly going out in matching outfits?” Aunt Zelda asks, eyebrows raised.

“Yes.” You reply. “Sabrina said she’d forgive me if I did.” 

“I see.” She looks the two of you up and down with disgust. “And why must you go out for pizza? Are the two of you incapable of cooking for yourselves?”

“No, but you said I should work on my communication skills and going out into the mortal’s world and ordering mortal food from a mortal would help those skills.”

“Very well, girls. But stay out of trouble.” She sighs before taking a puff of her cigarette.

“Yes, Aunt Zelda.” The two of you say in unison before hurrying off to the pizzeria.

“You’re going to order, right?” You ask Sabrina when the two of you are a few blocks from the restaurant.

“Of course. Last time you addressed the waitress as a mortal nourishment servant because you couldn’t remember the word ‘waitress’.” She laughs.

“Aunt Hilda was so embarrassed.” You laugh, remembering the embarrassed look on Aunt Hilda’s face. “Now that I think of it, that was the last time Aunt Hilda took us here.” 

“Do you blame her?”

“No, I don’t.” When you reach the pizzeria, you hold the door open before your sister. “Age before beauty.”

“We’re identical.”

“But you’re older than I am.” You smirk as you follow her into the restaurant. The two of you sit towards the back of the building where it is quieter. When a waitress appears Sabrina orders for the two of you.

“So, I was thinking about your plan.” You say when the waitress leaves. “How are you going to get them to the mines?”

“We’re going to tell them we’re having a party in the mines and get them to come.”

“How will they get to the mines?”

“You can go with them and give them directions.” She smiles.

“You’re going to send me with a bunch of mortals?” You ask.

“Yes, you just have to flirt with them a bit and give them directions. If you don’t think about it that much, flirting will be easy.”

“And then what?” You ask.

“Then you excuse yourself and guard the mines as a wolf. When the boys run away, you can change back, and we’ll go home.” 

“Sounds simple enough, but what if the Weird Sisters cross you?”

“They won’t.” You roll your eyes. The waitress sets two glasses of water on the table. You and Sabrina each take one.

“I don’t trust them. They’ve already tried cursing you. They’re full witches, Sabrina. They’re stronger than us. Together we make up one full witch, they make up three full witches.”

“I trust them,” Sabrina says simply as the waitress returns with a pizza.

“You can trust them, but I won’t hesitate to attack if something is about to go wrong.” You say quietly as the waitress leaves. She nods. The two of you eat in silence. “Where will the boys be?” You ask as you sip your drink.

“The gas station more than likely. You’ll wait there for us, hidden from the boys, and when we come then we’ll have our fun.”

“Okay. Let’s see how this goes.” You sigh with a smile. “But if this goes south, I get bragging rights.”

“Fine.” 

“And you have to say I was right.”

“How childish are you going to be?”

“You’re the one tormenting a group of mortal boys and torturing your mortal principal just to fill your personal vendetta.”

“What would you do if you were in my position?” She asks. “Let’s say your best friend is being abused by classmates and you try to set up a safe place where someone can protect her because you can’t because you’re being sent away?” 

“I don’t have a best friend.” You reply.

“Exactly.”

“I don’t really have friends in general, Sabrina.” You add.

“I know, and I don’t understand how or why you do that. Why did you choose to not go to mortal school? Why do you choose to stay in the house all day with only Ambrose and Aunt Hilda and Zelda to keep you company?”  
“You and I both know the burden we bare. Any mortal we allow into our lives will never truly know who or what we are. We are forbidden from allowing them to become that close to us. We get to know everything about them, but we have to keep so much hidden about ourselves. I don’t think I could keep something like that from someone I loved.” Sabrina looks at you with surprise. “We seem to be cursed, pain seems to be a permanent part of our lives. We experienced pain when Mother and Father died, we experience pain when we get close to mortals, we will experience pain when we are baptized as we must leave so much of ourselves behind us, and we will continue to experience pain when we become full witches and the mortals and the town we know now will grow and change and die but we won’t. If not getting close to mortals means I can save myself some of that pain, then I think it’s worth it.” Sabrina stares at you in silence.

“You sound like Aunt Zelda, you know that?” She says after a few moments.

“I know.” You smile softly. “Are you ready to carry out your plan? We don’t have much time.” 

“Yeah, I’ll go meet the Weird Sisters while you go to the gas station,” Sabrina says as she stands up. You do the same. 

“I’ll see you soon then.” You nod to her. She pays for the pizza and the two of you go your separate ways. The sun has begun to set as you hurry to the gas station. You hate walking around town at night and would rather wait at the gas station for a while than get there after dark. Despite your rush, it is pitch black when you reach the gas station. You crouch into some nearby shrubbery and turn into a wolf. You notice that the only mortals there are the boys Sabrina must have been telling you about. You stay out of their sight and watch them as they drink and act like fools.

“What about Meg?” You hear a boy ask. “'Cause I would, in a heartbeat.”

“Meg Simms?” Another boy asks. “No, dude. She's a prude, I hear.”

“Yeah, not to mention a dog.” The third boy says.

“I mean, her face is rather dog-like, but her body, I mean,” the first boy says.

“Okay, let me ask you a question, then. Could I put a bag over her head?” The second says.

“You could, but why go through all that trouble when you could just do her doggie-style?” 

“Good call.” They begin to laugh. A man steps out of the car two of the boys were sitting on.

“Hey, what's your problem, queer?”

“I gotta take a piss.” The man replies. You watch as the power flickers, letting you know the girls have arrived. You walk deeper into the shrubbery and away from the boys.

“What the hell?” One of the boys mumble. You hear laughing in the wind as it blows gently through your fur. Sabrina appears beside you. You turn back into a human and smile at her.

“You ready?” She asks.

“Of course, sister.” You reply. You hold her hand as the two of you emerge from the brush with the Weird Sisters behind you.

“Guys. Guys.” One of the boys says. You can feel the fear in his voice. They turn to see the five of you walk towards them.

“Hello, boys.” Sabrina smiles.

“What's up?”

“The five of us were thinking of having a little party in the mines.” She replies.

“But we'd need beer and boys for that.” You add.

“Well, we’re right here and we got beer.” The leader of the group of boys says with a smile.

“Let’s go the mines then.” Prudence smiles. “We’ll meet you boys there.”

“Okay then.” The leader says. “We’ll see you there.”

“Follow them and make sure they get to the mines.” Sabrina thinks to you.

“On it.” You think back. 

“My sister will ride with you guys, give you directions. She knows where we’ll be.” Sabrina smiles as she lets go of your hand.

“Y/N.” You hold out your hand to the leader.

“Cool.” He says. “You can sit up front pretty girl.”

“Thank-you.” You reply as you climb into the car.

“So, you’re that chick’s sister?” He asks as he takes the seat behind you and the other boys climb into the car.

“Yes, we’re twins, identical twins.”

“That’s hot.” One of the other boys says. 

“You have a boyfriend?” The boy driving the car asks.

“No, I’m as free as a bird but I’m as fierce as a wolf.” You flirt. You can’t help but feel disgusted with yourself as you continue to flirt with the mortals. 

“The mines are right here.” You say, pointing out where Sabrina and the Weird Sisters are waiting. You all climb out of the car and you go to join your sister.

“We’ll lead the way.” Sabrina smiles. 

“I’ll make sure no one knows we’re here. Don’t worry, I’ll catch up.” You say before walking off into the trees. You transform into a wolf out of everyone’s sight but stay close enough to them that you can still smell and hear them. 

“Do you go to Baxter? You look kind of familiar.” One boy asks.

“I do, but my gal pals go somewhere else.” Sabrina answers.

“Where? Riverdale?”

“You wouldn't know it.” One of the Weird Sisters answers.

“It's a special school.” Another sister answers. “Very special.”

“No boys allowed.” They laugh as they continue towards the mines.

“You know what they call this place, don't you?” Sabrina asks as they reach the opening of the mines. “The Devil's Doorway. They say the mines in Greendale run so deep, one shaft takes you all the way down to Hell.” She answers her own question.

"I don't know about this, man. This is starting to feel really freaky to me.” One of the boys whispers.

“Now, boys. Don't go getting scared on us.”

“I just don't wanna break my neck tripping in the dark.”

“There are lamps right inside the tunnel.”

“See?”

“Maybe they are scared,” Prudence says as she touches Sabrina’s hair. Your ears perk up at the sight as you watch her carefully. Sabrina may have made a deal with the girls, but you didn’t trust them one bit. “Maybe they're just scared, little boys.” You watch them disappear into the mines. The boys hesitate, but ultimately follow them. You listen to their voices fade as they go deeper into the mine. You stand, alone and in the dark. You begin to pace after a few minutes, beginning to feel anxious. 

“How long have they been in there? It shouldn’t take that long to fool some mortals.” You think to yourself. You pause as the screaming of boys reaches your ears. You watch as they run out of the mine in only their underwear. They stop to catch their breath when they exit the mine. You growl as you walk toward them like you’re about to pounce. They look at you and run away. You chase after them, snapping at them until they rush into their car. You jump onto the trunk of the car and begin to pounce on the glass as they drive off. You lose your balance and roll off the car as they speed out of sight.

“That was a little overkill.” Sabrina smiles as you turn back into a human.

“That’s alright, I’m fine.” You reply sarcastically as she helps you up. “I only fell off a speeding car.” She laughs.

“Are you ready to go home?”

“Yes, I need a hot bath and a nice long nap. Maybe a story from Aunt Hilda too.” You reply. The two of you walk home, it isn’t very far from the house.

“I accept your apology,” Sabrina says after some silence.

“Thank-you.” You reply. She nods. When you reach the house, Sabrina’s boyfriend is waiting on the steps. “I’ll leave the two of you alone.” You say as the boy stands to greet you and Sabrina.

“I’ll be inside in a few minutes.” Sabrina smiles as she gives you a quick hug.

“Good evening, Harley.” You nod.

“It’s Harvey.” He says, unsure of who he is talking to. He hates when you and Sabrina are dressed alike because he always thinks Sabrina is testing him. You decide to look for Aunt Hilda.

“Aunt Hilda, we’re home!” You call as you begin to wander around the house.

“Aunt Hilda is outside.” Aunt Zelda calls from the parlor. 

“I didn’t see her outside.” You reply as you walk into the parlor.

“She’ll be back soon.” She laughs knowingly.

“Did you kill Aunt Hilda again?” You ask. 

“I do not have to answer to a teenage witch.” Aunt Zelda says haughtily as she smokes her cigarettes and takes a sip of her drink.

“Someday, Aunt Zelda, you will kill your own sister and she won’t come back. You and I both know that magic has it’s limits and someday the fun will end and you will have to answer for the death of Aunt Hilda.” You say before going upstairs. You leave the parlor quickly before Aunt Zelda can chastise you for lecturing her. You rush into the bathroom and draw a bath. You quickly wash the dirt and the feeling of filth off you and scrub your hair before draining the tub. You spin and make your pajamas appear on your now dry body. You quickly go to your room and sit by the window. You crack open the window just enough to hear outside. You planned to spy on Sabrina and her boyfriend just to be a pain and to tease her. Instead, you can smell the faint smell of Aunt Zelda’s cigarette and know she’s outside. Before you close the window, you hear a faint shuffling from the cemetery.

“Zelda.” A rough voice says as it approaches the house.

“Took you long enough. Each slaying, it takes you longer to resurrect. Eventually, there will come a time when I bury you and you'll stay buried.” Aunt Zelda says.

“You can't keep killing me.” Aunt Hilda gasps.

“I'm your older sister, Hilda, it's my Satan-given right to kill you as many times as I please. Especially when you're behaving so stupidly. Encouraging the twins to do anything other than join the Church of the Night. Edward entrusted them to our care. If they do not sign their names in the Book of the Beast, we will have failed him and the Dark Lord. So fair warning, sister. Any silly doubts or regrets you feel keep them to yourself. The simple truth is they have no choice in this matter. To pretend otherwise is reckless. Have I made myself clear?” Aunt Zelda says sternly. Your breath catches in your throat.

“Yes, sister.” You close the window and sit on your bed, taking in Aunt Zelda’s words.

“You won’t believe what I just heard,” Sabrina whispers moments later as she creeps into your room.

“You won’t believe what I just heard.” You repeat, still shocked. “I had the window open. I was trying to spy on you and Harvey.”

“I was outside, I had just said goodbye to Harvey.”

“Then we both heard the same thing.” You say quietly.

“Yeah, we did.”

“Want to discuss it?”

“Not really.”

“Me either.” You reply, still shocked. Sabrina changes into her pajamas and climbs into bed. “I think this is one of the few times I’ve not felt safe knowing Aunt Zelda is in the house.” You whisper. You don’t get a reply from Sabrina. The two of you drift into a fitful and dreamless sleep.


	4. Chapter 2 Part 2

“Morning, love.” Aunt Hilda says as she walks into your room the next morning.

“Morning, Aunt Hilda.” You say with a yawn as you look up from your book and smile at her. You feel like you hadn’t slept at all last night. You notice two gowns draped over her arm and a box in her hands. She places the box on your bed and hangs the dresses on the closet door and begins to fluff them out.

“That box is for you, you can open it.” She says. You take the lid off the box and a small, fluffy looking owl stares at you.

“It’s so cute!” You smile. The owl seems to glare at you for calling it cute. It jumps out of the box and walks around your bed.

“What kind of owl do you think it is?” Aunt Hilda asks as she takes a moment to watch you play with your new familiar.

“I think it’s an elf owl, it’s really small, but they are desert owls.” You reply as you gently pet the owl’s head. 

“What are you going to name ‘im?” 

“Edward, after father.” You reply. Edward lets out a squeak in approval as he climbs on top of your head. Aunt Hilda laughs before going back to the dresses. You watch her as you pretend to read the book you had been studying. Edward seems to be observing her too. After last night, Aunt Hilda had suddenly become extremely interesting to you. 

“Aunt Hilda,” Sabrina says somewhat surprised as she walks into the room moments later. 

“Ooh! Morning.” She smiles at her.

“That's gorgeous,” Sabrina says, noticing the dress.

“It's your mom's wedding dress. They lived such a fairy tale, those two. I thought you might wear it tonight,” she pauses, “to your baptism.” You feel your chest tighten as you think about last night and what you and Sabrina overheard. “Since there’s two of you and only one gown, I made a replica of it. I know you guys don’t like dressing alike, and Zelda doesn’t like you dressing alike, but I thought that if you wanted to, you’d have the option.” She says somewhat quickly.

“I’ll wear the replica.” You reply before Sabrina can say anything.

“You have a bird on your head,” Sabrina says, noticing Edward.

“Really?” Aunt Hilda smiles, excitement building in her eyes.

“Of course,” you close your book, “the baptism is a special event, something that only happens once in a witch’s life. Why not wear a special gown for such a special occasion? And what’s more special than a gown your aunt made by hand?”

“Oh, you’re wonderful!” She laughs as she walks up to your bed and wraps you in a hug. Her touch is somewhat comforting to you. Edward jumps off your head, avoiding Aunt Hilda’s touch. He instead stares at Sabrina with interest and then looks at you, almost confused at seeing two of you.

“Aren't witches only allowed to wear black to their baptism?” Sabrina asks as she tries to pet Edward, who backs away from her touch and gives a disapproving screech.

“Oh, that hasn't been the rule for years. Decades.” Aunt Hilda responds as she lets go of you. A silence falls upon the three of you as Edward returns to his place on your head.

“I want to make her happy.” You think to Sabrina. “She deserves to be happy.”

“I know.” She thinks back.

“You know, you have nothing to be afraid of, my darlings.” Aunt Hilda says softly as she walks towards Sabrina. “I mean, your Aunt Zelda and I are gonna be there. We.. and we'll make sure nothing bad happens to either of you. And the two of you will be together. And then, you know, you'll see. Tomorrow you're gonna wake up, and, well, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about in the first place.” She laughs. But it almost seems like she’s trying to hide tears. You feel the nervous energy she’s giving off. “Do you believe me? My sweet, brave girls?” She asks as she touches Sabrina’s face. “I love you, both of you.” 

“We love you too, Aunt Hilda.” You say. She smiles at you.

“I’m going to go down and make breakfast, I’ll see you two in a bit.” She hugs Sabrina before she leaves the room. You stare at your hands as you and Sabrina sit in silence. You feel tears forming in your eyes.

“How could everything become so twisted and messed up?” You think to yourself. “Stop crying.” You whisper to your twin as you wipe your own tears from your eyes, trying to not think about last night.

“You stop crying.” She replies as she does the same. The two of you compose yourselves, but just barely. You get dressed together in silence and walk downstairs in silence. You take your normal places at the table and Aunt Hilda sets two jars in front of you. She lists off the ingredients in it, but you don’t listen. You’re too consumed by your thoughts.

“Are you afraid?” You think to Sabrina as you glance at Aunt Zelda, who is writing down her list of things she has to do.

“Are you?” She thinks back.

“I wasn’t, but after last night I am terrified.” Aunt Hilda walks past the two of you, squeezing your shoulders as she passes, causing the two of you to jump in surprise.

“Hilda and I have errands to run and preparations to finish,” Aunt Zelda says as she walks to the kitchen table, “but I've already called Baxter High and told them you're having a terrible outbreak of hives.” She tosses her newspaper on the table and gently touches Sabrina’s hand.

“Ha, you have hives.” You say quietly, trying to act like yourself even though you’re exhausted and terrified of the woman standing beside you. 

“And you have a bird on your head. I see your familiar has arrived.” Aunt Zelda says.

“Wh-What? Why would you do that, Aunt Zelda?” Sabrina asks in surprise.

“The day before your dark baptism should be spent in quiet contemplation, reading your satanic verses.” She gently touches Sabrina’s face. It’s unusual to see Aunt Zelda so touchy and it makes you even more nervous. You place your hands in your lap to hide the nervous shaking in your hands.

“But I haven't said goodbye to my friends yet. I can't just vanish from their lives.” Sabrina argues. Aunt Zelda pretends to listen as she sips her drink. “At a minimum, I have to tell them that I'm-”

“Transferring to some posh private school in Connecticut?” Ambrose interprets as he walks into the kitchen.

“Why do we have to keep every aspect of who we are a secret?” You think to yourself, beginning to tune out your family and stare into space, letting your mind wander and trying to find time to schedule a nap before your baptism.

“You'll send them a postcard.” Aunt Zelda says. 

“Why can’t she just tell them? It isn’t a big deal.” You think. “Is there some kind of hidden meaning?”

“Ambrose will keep the two of you company and keep an eye on you.” She smiles. “Won't you, Ambrose?” She asks somewhat sternly. You look at your cousin who freezes, his mouth open, waiting for his spoonful of cereal. Aunt Zelda smiles at him and Sabrina looks at him in shock.

“But of course, Auntie Z.” He smiles. Aunt Zelda picks up her newspaper and begins to read it. After a moment, she looks at you and notices you’re staring into space.

“Y/N, are you feeling alright?” She sets her newspaper down and gently places her cool hand on your head. You force yourself not to flinch as Edward takes a step away from Aunt Zelda.

“I’m okay, Aunt Zelda.” You reply quietly.

“Hmm, you don’t feel warm.” She mumbles, concern in her voice as she ignores your comment. She studies your eyes. You feel like she’s looking into your soul and reading your thoughts to find out what is wrong with you. “I want you to rest today. No studying unless it is reading your scriptures and no magic unless it’s some kind of emergency Ambrose can’t handle. Stay out of the study for today. We don’t want you becoming ill right before or after your dark baptism.” She says. 

“Yes, Aunt Zelda.” You reply. She lets her hand slide from your head and gently caresses your cheek. She pulls your face towards hers.

“I’m so proud of both of you. Your parents would be so proud too.” She says before letting go of you and walking away. “It’s time to go, Hilda.” She calls a few moments later. 

“I’ll see you later, darlings!” Aunt Hilda says before rushing out behind Aunt Zelda. You, Ambrose, and Sabrina sit in silence. No one dares to say a word for fear that Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda would return prematurely for a forgotten object. After several long moments, Ambrose speaks.

“Let’s have a chat in the parlor, cousins,” Ambrose says. The two of you follow him and he flops on the couch. You sit in a chair in the corner of the room by a window and Sabrina stands behind a green chair across from Ambrose.

“I’ll still be able to see them, won't I, Ambrose?” Sabrina asks. “Roz and Harvey and Susie? I mean, just because we're not at the same school, it doesn't mean we can't be friends. I'll be at the Academy of The Unseen Arts during the week, but during the weekends-“

“On the weekends, you will still be a witch.” He interrupts.

“No, I know, but we'll still be able to go to the movies, same as always, and bowling, and all the fun things we do together.”

“Of course, Auntie Mame and Baby Jane would leave me to explain the hard bits.” Ambrose sighs as he sits up. “Look, it is frowned upon. It is discouraged.”

“But you talk to mortals. And Hilda and Zelda, they talk to mortals.”

“Yeah, we do, in passing, but we do not have meaningful connections with them. The coven forbids that, they will see to it.”

“What? They'll cast a spell on me if I go to the mall with Harvey?” Sabrina smiles, thinking she’s outsmarted your older cousin. Ambrose is silent. “Ambrose, will they?” She asks, her smile fading as she finally sits in the chair she had been standing behind.

“It's as though a veil drops between you and the mortal world, and eventually, quite quickly, you're weaned from it.” He says.

“I won't forget them.”

“You'll want to,” he says quickly, “or else the pain is too much to bear.”

“Why would it be painful?”

“Time slows down, and they'll grow old and you won't. And those things that are so terribly important to them will seem trivial and pale to you. The longer you're a witch, the more you'll understand, but it's better to forget the mortal world and think only of what is ahead and be ready for what is ahead.” He says slowly. You look at your sister and see tears falling from her face. She wipes her eyes and stands up. “Cousin, where are you going?”

“To call Harvey.” She replies, voice cracking. “I'm having one last night with my friends. You look at Ambrose as he watches Sabrina leave. He looks at you.

“What’s your problem?” He says. “You’ve been the one the aunties haven’t had to worry about being baptized and it’s as though you’ve changed your mind.” You sigh.

“Ambrose, are Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda safe?” You ask him slowly as Edward hops from your head to your shoulder.

“What do you mean by safe?”

“Aunt Zelda killed Aunt Hilda and then she just climbed out of the grave.” You reply, deciding to not tell him about what Aunt Zelda has said the night before.

“Oh,” he laughs, “Aunt Zelda does that from time to time. The ground where Aunt Hilda gets buried is magic, witches buried there are resurrected.”

“Has she ever killed you?”

“She’s wanted to, but no, she hasn’t.” He jokes. You’re silent as you think about Aunt Hilda climbing out of a grave. “I can assure you that Aunt Zelda and Aunt Hilda have wanted only the best for the both of you. If there’s anyone they’d protect from anyone or anything, it’s you and Sabrina.” He smiles as he stands.

“Were you nervous for your baptism?” You decide to ask, changing the subject.

“Everyone is, it’s a big step in a witch’s life.” He replies. “Trust me, cousin, you have no one to fear in this house. You never have and you never will. Aunt Z is basically a guard dog, she wouldn’t let anyone of question near her favorite niece. She wouldn’t let any of us near you for a while after you were born.” He says before leaving the room. You sit in the parlor with Edward and start to doze off, only being woken by either Ambrose or Sabrina walking by before falling back asleep. When you finally wake up, you wake up to the sound of a car door closing. You walk to the front door as someone on the other side begins to knock. 

“I see you’ve finally woken up.” Ambrose smiles to you as he opens the door to reveal Harvey. “How clever. You're dressed as your future.” He greets the mortal with a smirk. “Sabrina!” He yells loudly. “Oh, there you are. I thought you were preparing for Harvey.” He says to you. Harvey gives you a confused look as he steps into the house.

“I’m not Sabrina and you know it, Ambrose Spellman.” You reply with disdain. You don’t feel like messing with mortals today.

“It was kind of last minute, borrowed it from my brother,” Harvey says to Ambrose as he avoids you. You make him feel nervous and you usually adore it, but not today.

“I'm teasing, you look great.”

“You can come to the party with us if you want. You too, number two.” He says to you.

“Thanks, but if I'm risking banishment to the Nether Realm, it's going to be for something other than a high school masquerade,” Ambrose says.

“Nether Realm?” Harvey asks.

“He's kidding, Harvey.” Sabrina smiles as she walks down the stairs. The three of you stare at her. She looks familiar in that dress, but you can’t place her. “I didn't have a costume, but is this okay?”

“You're beautiful,” Harvey says quietly, almost too stunned to make coherent sentences. “Happy Halloween. And Birthday. And everything.” He adds. Ambrose clears his throat.

“Well, if you're leaving, leave now, before Hilda and Zelda come home and eat you.” He says, pointing at Harvey. You smile at the confused look on his face. “I'll explain that you'll meet them at the appointed hour and place. Cousin, if you are late, the blue flames will burn you.” He adds quickly. 

“I won't be. And thank you, Ambrose.” Sabrina smiles as she takes Harvey’s arm.

“Blue flames?” Harvey asks.

“It's just, uh, another joke,” Sabrina says to him as they leave.

“Not joking.” Ambrose sighs as he walks upstairs. You smile a bit and then head upstairs yourself. You walk into your room and look at the dress on the closet door. Edward flutters off your shoulder and onto Sabrina’s desk next to a picture of your parents. Your eyes drift to the picture. You realize that Sabrina looks like your mother in her dress, meaning you’ll look like your mother in the replica dress. You feel like the dress represents who you are in a way. You and Sabrina and replicas of your mother, Sabrina, being the true replica because she was born first, and you being a replica of the replica because you are Sabrina’s twin and you are the younger twin. You decide to get ready early and spend the rest of the evening pretending to read your scriptures.

Edward watches you carefully as you slip on the dress. You pause before zipping it up, looking at yourself in the mirror.

“I don’t remember you.” You say to your mother as you look at yourself. “I don’t remember your voice. I don’t remember your touch. I don’t remember your laugh. I don’t remember you. All I know is your name, your face, and that you’re my mother. Would you have been proud of me? Would you have even liked me? Did you even want me?”

“We’re home!” You hear Aunt Hilda call. 

“Girls, are you ready for baptisms?” Aunt Zelda asks. “We need to leave soon.” Edward flutters to the top of your head at Aunt Zelda’s words.

“About that, Auntie Z,” Ambrose calls to her as he rushes down the stairs.

“Sabrina is where?” Aunt Zelda yells moments later. “Really Ambrose, I put you in charge of two teenage witches for a few hours and you manage to lose one of them! I wouldn’t be surprised if the other isn’t running loose in Greendale!” You hear her say as she walks up the stairs. She walks in your room to see you in the replica of your mother’s wedding dress with Edward on your head. Aunt Zelda freezes for a moment before recovering. “Why is your sister at a party?” She asks.

“The mortals are her whole world, they’re half of who she is. I expect that she just wanted one more moment with them and since you wouldn’t let her go to school. This was her last chance to be with them.” You reply somewhat blankly. She glares at you.

“We need to go or we’ll be late. We’ll discuss this after your baptisms.” She sighs angrily. You follow her downstairs. Aunt Hilda’s face lights up when she sees you.

“You look darling in that dress!” She giggles. “Just as beautiful as your mother!” 

“Thank-you, Aunt Hilda.” You smile at her. “I’ll see you later, Ambrose.” You say to your cousin as he tosses you a jacket.

“Good luck!” He says to you. “You may need it!” You, Aunt Hilda, and Aunt Zelda begin the walk into the woods in silence. You shiver in the cold night air. 

“I hope you don’t become ill from the weather.” Aunt Zelda says bluntly.

“I hope I don’t either.” You reply quietly. The walk to the woods is quiet and tense and you follow your aunts. Edward jumps off your head and takes flight ahead of you. You reach a place in the woods where the branches and brush have formed a gate. As you get close to it you notice your dress slowly changes from its original pure white to a stunning black. You pause to watch the transformation. Aunt Hilda and Zelda walk ahead of you into the woods. You quickly follow them when a wall of blue fire stops you. You slowly make your way towards it, feeling its heat on your body. You pass through it to see many people chatting and watching you. You feel nervous at all the strange faces. You notice Prudence, but only for a moment. Your mind settles only slightly when you notice Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda. You walk to them, choosing to stay close to the only people you recognize. Aunt Hilda takes your jacket off you.

“Where is the other child?” Father Blackwood asks as he approaches the three of you.

“She should be here shortly.” Aunt Zelda says proudly. He nods before his attention is taken away by one of the other witches. You watch the moon as it begins to eclipse. As it does so, Sabrina walks into the woods. Everyone’s attention turns towards her as she stands beside you.

“Welcome, Daughters of Night.” Father Blackwood says. “Who presents these children for unholy baptism?” Father Blackwood asks.

“We do, Your Excellency.” Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda say at the same time.

“Late for your own baptism. Honestly.” Aunt Zelda whispers in Sabrina’s ear.

“You look lovely, darlings.” Aunt Hilda smiles.

“Disrobe them, sisters.” Father Blackwood says. Aunt Hilda unzips your dress and Aunt Zelda unzips Sabrina’s. The two of you take off your shoes and stand before everyone in simple dressing gowns.

“We are gathered here together, in these woods, in the presence of our Dark Lord, with all the souls, the living and the dead, of our coven: The Most Unholy Church of Night. Kneel, children.” He says. The two of you obey. You watch as Father Blackwood places his hand in a bowl beside him.

“Our Dark Lord teaches us. There is no law beyond do what thou wilt.” He says as he draws on Sabrina’s head in blood. “Our Dark Lord asks: Would you like to be happy, child, to be free?” He says as he does the same to you. You don’t like the feeling of his hands on your skin. “Free to love and to hate? To be what nature meant you to be, true to her laws and yourself only?”

“Yes, Father.” You reply. He looks at Sabrina. You watch her from the corner of your eye, you can tell she’s nervous. 

“Sabrina.” Aunt Zelda whispers.

“Yes, Father,” Sabrina says quietly.

“Do you believe in Lucifer, the archangel, who preferred the loss of Heaven to that of his pride?”

“Yes, Father.” The two of you say at the same time.

“In exchange for this belief, you shall be granted powers that will enable you to be of service to the Dark Lord. Sabrina Edwina Diana Spellman and Y/N Phiona Antoinette Spellman are you willing to forsake the Path of Light and follow the Path of Night wherever it may lead you?” You smile slightly at your name. You had finally decided on Phiona, after Aunt Zelda, and Antoinette, after Aunt Hilda. You hadn’t told anyone your decision, you wanted it to be a surprise. 

“I am.” You both reply.

“And are you willing to place our Dark Lord above all others in your life, be it your loved ones, your family, your friends, your neighbors?”

“I am.” You say.

“I am,” Sabrina says slowly. Thunder crashes and a bolt of lightning briefly illuminates the area.

“Then it is time to sign his book.” He says as he helps the two of you to your feet. He leads you both to the altar where the Book of the Beast awaits. You look at all the signatures in it as Father Blackwood picks up a knife and cuts Sabrina’s hand. You clench your own hand as you hear her gasp in pain. Father Blackwood goes to the other side of alter and holds her bleeding hand over an empty line in the book and lets the blood drip onto it. “In signing his book, the Book of the Beast, you swear to obey without question any order you may receive from the Dark Lord, or from any figure he has placed in authority over you.” He says quickly as he places the quill in her hand.

“That's not what you said before,” Sabrina whispers. 

“In signing his book, the Book of the Beast, you swear to give your mind, body, and soul unreservedly to the furtherance of the designs of our Lord Satan.” You look at your sister and notice she’s becoming more panicked.

“You said I would have free will.” She says, tears falling down her face. Father Blackwood holds onto her hand as he forces the quill toward the small pool of blood on the book. The tip of the quill touches the red liquid but before she can write her name, she tosses the quill down on the book. She steps back from the altar. The crowd stares at her and whispers. “I can't do this.” She sobs.

“You must.” Father Blackwood replies.

“Sabrina.” Aunt Zelda says sternly. The two of you turn to look at her. “Don’t you dare.”

“Darling?” Aunt Hilda whispers.

“I'm sorry, Aunties,” Sabrina whispers. She grabs your wrist and forces you away from the altar. She drags you behind her as she runs away from the baptism.

“Get them.” You hear Father Blackwood say.

“Sabrina!” You yell to her as she drags you through the woods. The two of you are forced to stop when the plants begin to hold onto you. The two of you are dragged to the ground but manage to get away after several moments of wrestling. Before you can say anything else, Sabrina once again grabs your wrist and drags you along with her. The two of you run towards the house.

“Ambrose!” Sabrina screams. You’ve never heard her scream like this before. “Ambrose!” She yells again when the two of you are closer to the house. 

“Sabrina!” Ambrose yells as he runs off the porch and towards you two.

“Ambrose!” Sabrina gasps. “Ambrose! You won't, you won't believe what happened.” She pants as she finally comes to a stop and lets go of you. You fall on your knees, your wrist is coated in your sister’s blood and your lungs are burning from running and fighting and panicking. Tears form in your eyes. Tears of fear, tears of worry, tears of anger, tears of regret, tears of failure, tears of frustration.

“I think I can guess, cousin. Behind you!” Ambrose says with fear. You look behind you to see people carrying torches and Father Blackwood carrying the Book of the Beast.

“While the blood moon still shines, you must sign the Book of the Beast!” Father Blackwood calls. 

“We will not,” Sabrina says bravely. “There is another path for us, just as there was for our father and mother. A third way. And even if there isn't, my name is Sabrina Spellman, and I will not sign it away and neither will my sister!” Sabrina calls out to them. You try to speak, but nothing comes out of your mouth. You can’t even manage to make yourself stand up or move. There is a moment of intense silence before Father Blackwood slams the Book of the Beast Shut. 

“Girls.” Father Blackwood says as he nods to you and Sabrina. The group begins to move closer to you.

“This is it.” You think to yourself. “This is where I die.”

“A circle of protection rings this house! And no witch save a Spellman may cross it.” Ambrose yells. Father Blackwood and the group stop in their tracks. “Any unwelcome witch that tries shall burn! So please, go ahead!” There is a pause in the crowd before they turn and leave. Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda walk towards the house.

“When did you put a protection on the house?” Sabrina asks softly. 

“I didn't.” Ambrose breaths heavily. “Though I should probably start, hmm?” He says in surprise before walking away. You turn around and watch Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda as they get closer to you. You look up at them as they quietly walk past the two of you, not even looking at either of you. Sabrina stands next to you in silence as the two of you stare into the darkness. She shivers before quietly walking into the house. You sit in silence, still unable to force your legs to move or your voice to work.

“How could I have let my sister drag me away from our baptism? How could I have disgraced my family like that?” You think to yourself. “Tonight was supposed to be wonderful. We were supposed to be baptized, everyone was supposed to be happy, it was supposed to be the perfect night.” The tears finally begin to fall from your eyes. “Everything went to hell in a matter of minutes. All that studying was for nothing. All those years of learning and practicing and memorizing were for nothing. Why couldn’t I say anything? Why couldn’t I pull away from Sabrina? Why couldn’t I stand up and walk to Father Blackwood and everyone else and sign my name?” You stare blankly into the darkness and listen to the nearby thunder. It begins to rain heavily, and it soon soaks what little clothes you’re wearing. You begin to shiver in the cold as the wind and rain beats down upon your skin, washing away some of the mud on your skin and clothes. You still can’t force yourself to stand. You feel like you don’t deserve to stand, you deserve to sit in the cold and rain. You don’t even deserve to be a Spellman. You feel like you shouldn’t have been born, you should have died at birth or had just been left to die in the woods or rot in an orphanage when your parents died. A sob escapes your throat. Maybe the rain will make you sick and kill you or maybe you’ll get struck by lightning. A hand gently touches your shoulder and then moves to your arm. You’re forced to stand. You begin to choke on your sobs as you fall into the body of the person making you stand. You recognize the faint smell of alcohol and cigarettes. You cling to Aunt Zelda’s clothes but start to let go when you realize you’re probably ruining them. Instead of letting you fall like the trash you feel you are, Aunt Zelda tightens her grip on you, keeping you upright and close to her.

“I’m sorry.” You finally gasp through your tears. The first thing you manage to say. You want to tell her that you’re sorry for ruining her clothes. You’re sorry for letting Sabrina lead you away from the baptism. You’re sorry for not being a good niece. You’re sorry for being alive. But all you can say is that you’re sorry.

“Just keep breathing.” She sighs as she tightens her grip on you again, running her fingers through your wet hair with her free hand. She leads you onto the porch where the rain can’t soak either of you anymore.

“I’m sorry, Aunt Zelda.” You choke out again.

“Shh.” She shushes you as she leads you into the house. She looks into your eyes only once before heading upstairs but she doesn’t look at you long enough for you to know what the look means. 

“Aunt Zelda,” you choke out. She stops but doesn’t turn around to look at you. “I’m sorry we ruined tonight and I’m sorry we couldn’t make you or Aunt Hilda or Mom or Dad proud tonight.” She doesn’t respond. “I’m sorry I’m just a mutt and I’m sorry I was born.” You say quietly, knowing she can’t hear you. She doesn’t reply or turn around, instead, she walks up the stairs. You watch her disappear from your view before you force your legs to move up the stairs and into your room. 

Sabrina is already in bed, pretending to be asleep. You know she’s awake, but you don’t want to deal with her. You feel anger towards your sister, but you also feel just as much anger toward yourself. She dragged you away, but you were just as capable of pulling away from her grasp or getting up and going back. You quietly take off your wet clothes and put on dry ones the mortal way. You don’t care that it takes longer. You don’t care that it’d be easier to use magic. You just want to crawl into bed and never leave it. Usually, when you sleep, you face Sabrina’s bed, but tonight you face away from her, not wanting to look at her. You stare into the darkness until you fall into a dreamless sleep. 

When you wake up you look at Sabrina’s bed to find it empty. You don’t even bother debating getting out of your own bed, you just stay. There isn’t a point to get out of bed, you just disgraced your whole family and destroyed any chance at having a decent and normal life in the coven. You stare at the ceiling. There’s no point in studying anymore. No point in learning. You don’t dare go downstairs, you can’t face Aunt Hilda or Aunt Zelda. You definitely can’t face Aunt Zelda after last night when she had to drag you in the house and out of the rain. 

“What kind of fool can’t even get out of the rain?” You think to yourself. You spend the day criticizing anything and everything you’ve done with your life until Aunt Hilda appears in the doorway later in the afternoon.

“Are you feeling alright, love?” Aunt Hilda as she enters your room to check on you. “You weren’t quite yourself yesterday and you’ve been in bed most of today. We’re worried about you.”

“Yes.” You sigh as you turn away from her. You don’t want to see the disappointment in her eyes when she looks upon the failure you have become. You almost want to ask her if ‘we’ includes Aunt Zelda considering you’ve probably ruined one of her best outfits and made her go out in the rain. She sits on the bed and begins to comb your hair with her fingers.

“Would you like anything to eat?”

“No, thank-you.” You say softly.

“Anything to drink?”

“No, thank-you.”

“Would you like me to draw you a bath?” She asks.

“No, thank-you.”

“I suppose you had enough of one in the rain last night.” She laughs quietly, trying to lighten the mood. “Zelda was sopping wet just from going out to get you so I can only imagine how you fared.” She laughs a little louder at the image of a soaking wet Zelda. You don’t reply. “It’s okay that you weren’t baptized.” She says after a moment of silence, trying to get more than a few words of response from you. “I know we put a lot of pressure on the two of you about it. But it’s not your fault it didn’t happen. It’s not like you chose to run away. You were literally dragged away.” She pauses as she places a hand on your shoulder. “I’m going to go downstairs, you know where to find me if you need anything.” She says as she gently squeezes your shoulder before leaving your room. A few hours later, Sabrina returns. 

“Hey.” She says quietly.

“Hey.” You reply.

“Have you been in bed all day?”

“Yep.” You reply, turning away from her.

“That’s not like you. You’re usually locked away in the study learning something.”

“There’s no point to learning anymore.” You reply as you hold back tears. “Sabrina, we’ve been preparing for our baptisms our whole lives. It’s so rare for twins of a high priest to be baptized. It’s even rarer for it to occur on Halloween during an eclipse. We were going to be witches that would be remembered for years. You’ve been out frolicking with mortals all these years without a care in the world, but I’ve been studying. I’ve been studying and learning and trying to become a strong witch and you took that from me because you had doubts and because your stupid, useless mortals are more important than your own family.” You say to her, feeling bitter and feeling resentment towards mortals.

“They’re not stupid and they’re not useless.” She replies. “Our mother was mortal, and Harvey is mortal-”

“And we’re half mortal. But what does it matter now?” You interrupt. “Like I said, there’s no point. There’s no point in arguing. There’s no point in learning. There’s no point in studying. There’s no point in living. There’s just no point anymore. I’m just a vessel wandering around aimlessly with no purpose because I no longer have a purpose.”

“I’m sorry.” She says, not knowing what else to say.

“Haven’t you learned that sorry doesn’t do anything? Sorry didn’t bring back Mother and Father. Sorry didn’t keep Ambrose from being placed under house arrest. Sorry doesn’t bring us back to our baptism. Sorry doesn’t fix anything.” Sabrina stares at you for a moment.

“There’s a point and a purpose for everything.” She says quietly before leaving you alone again.

“No, not for everything, sister.” You think to yourself as you stare at the ceiling again. You hear footsteps in the hallway outside your door and pretend to be asleep as they walk past you. You don’t want to be bothered by anyone. You just want to stay in bed, feel bad about your baptism, and be miserable. 

“Are you joining us for supper, cousin?” Ambrose asks as he walks into your room.

“No, I’m not hungry.” You reply.

“You haven’t eaten since yesterday morning. You slept most of yesterday away and you’ve been in bed all day today. You must be hungry.” He insists.

“Not really.” You reply. 

“Is this about your baptism?”

“Ambrose, that’s the dumbest question you’ve ever asked.” You reply.

“Cousin, you cannot let something like this destroy you.” He says with a faint smirk. “We’ll be having supper if you need us.” He leaves you to stew in your thoughts. You no longer feel tired, just depressed and numb. You close your eyes and pretend to be asleep as you hear Ambrose, Aunt Hilda, Aunt Zelda, and Sabrina shuffle around the house like they always do. Soon, Aunt Hilda walks past your room on her way to bed, followed by Ambrose and then Sabrina enters your room and gets into bed. You wait for Aunt Zelda to walk past, but you never hear her footsteps. You wait a few more hours and still don’t hear her.

“She’s probably fallen asleep in a chair.” You think to yourself. You get out of bed, draping a blanket around your shoulders. Your muscles feel somewhat weak. You slowly and quietly make your way through the house, looking for Aunt Zelda. As you walk past the parlor, you see Aunt Zelda sitting in an armchair facing away from you. You notice the empty crystal bottle on the table next to her and slowly walk towards her. You stand behind her, waiting for her to notice or make some kind of noise. You cautiously approach her and notice her eyes are closed. She’s fallen asleep with a glass of alcohol in her hand again. You carefully remove the glass from her hand and set it on the table next to her with the bottle. You then take the blanket from your shoulders and drape it on her. You sit in a chair across from her and study her sleeping face for some kind of answer.

“Are we going to be okay? Why didn’t you leave me outside? Why did you bring me in? Why did you take us in when we were babies? Are you upset with me? Do you hate me?” You think to her. You desperately want answers to your numerous questions, but you know you’ll never have them. You watch her for another moment before getting up. You gently place a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Aunt Zelda. Please don’t hate me.” You say softly before going upstairs and back into bed.

“Come on, get downstairs, you’re not spending another moment in this room.” Aunt Hilda scolds you as she drags you out of bed the next morning.

“I don’t want to.” You reply as you're dragged to the floor.

“That bird of yours is driving me mad, go get it.” You realize that you haven’t seen Edward since your baptism. You stand up and look at Aunt Hilda for the first time. She seems taken back. “Darling, you look horrible.” She cups your face in her hands before hugging you to her. “Come on, let’s go downstairs and get you cleaned up a bit.” Aunt Hilda drags you into the kitchen. You sit at the table next to Aunt Zelda. Edward is guarding Aunt Hilda’s spoon, which is sitting in a pot that she was trying to cook in. When Edward sees you, he leaves his post and sits on the windowsill as though he weren’t just causing trouble. You’re not sure where Sabrina is, probably out with her boyfriend. You feel like a child about to be punished as Aunt Zelda sits beside you and looks at her newspaper, not acknowledging your presence or even looking at you.

“I thought you were spending the day with the mortals, Sabrina.” She finally says venomously to you while still reading the newspaper. “Did you decide to spend the day at home and bring more shame onto the household? Or perhaps you’re going to drag your sister into more of a mess.” You’re silent as you stare at your hands, not wanting to answer her. “Well?” She asks angrily before throwing her newspaper down. She pauses as she realizes it’s not Sabrina she’s talking to. You don’t look at her, you’re trying not to cry at her harsh words. “Y/N, I t-thought you were Sabrina.” She says in surprise, trying to think of what to say.

“No, ma’am. I’m not Sabrina.” You say quietly. “I’m just me.” You add. Aunt Zelda reaches out to touch you, but before she can you stand up and leave the room.

“Zelda, why’d you chase her off again?” You hear Aunt Hilda say as you leave. You hear Edward following behind you. You sit in the parlor as Edward struggles to catch up. He flutters onto the chair Aunt Zelda had fallen asleep in the night before and lets out a shrill chirp. You look at him to see the blanket you had placed on Aunt Zelda, it was folded up and placed neatly in the chair. You sit across from the chair on the couch. Edward flutters to the top of the fireplace, watching over you and guarding the entryway.

“Y/N.” Aunt Zelda says as she follows you into the room. She stands behind the chair she fell asleep in as though it were a barrier. It protected each of you, she didn’t want you to know how she felt and you didn’t want her to know how you felt.

“Yes, Auntie?” You reply automatically. She pauses as she tries to find the right words.

“I-I’m sorry.” She finally says.

“For what?” You ask, avoiding her eyes.

“Y/N, look at me when I’m speaking to you.” You look up at her. She looks as exhausted as you do but she still stands tall and proud. “Never apologize for being born. You are not a mistake. You were unplanned, but you have never been unwanted a moment in your entire life.” She moves to the front of the chair, places the blanket in her lap, and sits down. “Your Dark Baptism didn’t go as planned.” She sighs.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t baptized.” You say quietly.

“You didn’t leave of your own choice.”

“But I still left.” You state as you stand up. “I could have pulled away. I could have gone back. But I didn’t. I didn’t and now instead of just one of us being a disgrace, both of us are and we brought shame onto the whole Spellman family and Father Blackwood and the Church of Night!” You stand up and begin to pace as you continue. “Maybe I shouldn’t be baptized, maybe I should just let my powers fade into nothing. I couldn’t even come in out of the rain that night so why would I need any kind of power? Why would I need a long life? I’m not a good witch, I’m just a useless mutt! I’m just-“

“You’re not ‘just’ anything.” Aunt Zelda interrupts as she stands up. In a few quick movements, she drapes the blanket on your shoulders, wraps it around you tightly, and pulls you close to her. “You’ve never been ‘just’ anything. You’re half witch, half mortal. You’re Edward and Diana’s daughter.” She looks into your eyes. “And most importantly, you’re my niece.” She makes sure to add. You wrap your arms around her and cry. You feel frustrated and angry and hurt and sad and devastated and tired but you’re also happy that Aunt Zelda doesn’t hate you and she still sees you as her niece. When you finally compose yourself, Aunt Zelda speaks again. “Rest for the day. Tomorrow, I expect you to continue your studies.”

“Yes, ma’am.” You nod. She brushes a stray strand of hair out of your face and smiles slightly. Edward chirps happily as he flutters to the top of your head. You spend the rest of the day roaming the grounds and taking in the cool November air. It feels good to walk around the property you’ve lived your whole life on. Against Aunt Zelda’s many warnings over the years, you take your shoes and socks off and feel the cold dew and soft grass on your feet.

“I see you’re feeling better,” Ambrose says when you return to the house.

“I am.” You smile slightly.

“What made you come around?” He asks.

“I talked to Aunt Zelda.” 

“Did she tell you to the breathe?”

“No, she didn’t.”

“You know she tells you that a lot, right?”

“I suppose so.”

“Do you know why, cousin?” He smiles knowingly. 

“Not a clue, but apparently you know.” You shrug.

“Do you know that the Aunties delivered you and Sabrina?”

“No, but I figured they did. Who else would Father trust?”

“Did you know that you-“

“Ambrose.” Aunt Zelda says sternly. “That’s enough of your nonsense. Were you there when the twins were born?”

“No, Auntie.” He says, lowering his head to avoid her gaze.

“Then you know nothing of that night.” She states. “There’s some work for you in the embalming room.” She says before walking off. Ambrose rolls his eyes before leaving you.

You peruse the study looking for something new to read but find nothing. You decide to find Aunt Zelda and Aunt Hilda and ask them about the night you were born. You could use a good story told by Aunt Hilda with ‘corrections’ by Aunt Zelda. 

“How are you feeling?” Aunt Hilda asks you as you walk into the kitchen. 

“I’m fine, Auntie.” You reply. “Where’s Aunt Zelda?”

“Oh, she’s off sulking. She’s still upset about Sabrina and the whole baptism thing.” Aunt Hilda laughs. “She’s in our room if you want to find her. Or I’m right here if you need something.”

“No, I just wanted to ask her about the night Sabrina and I were born.” You reply. Aunt Hilda pauses.

“Why would you want to ask her that?”

“Curiosity.” You shrug before walking away. You head upstairs to Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda’s room. You hear Aunt Zelda talking, but you aren’t sure what she’s saying. You quietly approach the door and press your ear against it, trying to hear what she’s saying.

“Dark Lord, please watch over my nieces in this difficult time in their lives, especially Y/N. And please protect them from any witch hunters or dangers they may face. Especially Sabrina because she spends so much time in the mortal world.” She pauses. “Forgive me for failing my nieces and Edward and failing you, Dark Lord. The twins should have been baptized on their sixteenth birthday.” You slowly open the door.

“You know, I heard Sabrina once say that a lot of mortals get parties for their sixteenth birthdays.” You say. Aunt Zelda jumps up and quickly finishes her prayer.

“And I once taught you that it is rude to enter someone’s room without knocking.” She says sternly.

“Well, Sabrina has proved that rules are to be broken from time to time.” You smile. 

“Do not take after your sister. Anything she and Ambrose do, do the opposite.”

“So I should worship the False God?” Aunt Zelda rolls her eyes. “May I ask you something?” You say, becoming more serious.

“Of course. What is it?” She responds as she sits on her bed. 

“I was…” You trail off. You quickly decide not to ask about the night you and Sabrina were born. If she hadn’t told you already, maybe she was waiting for the right time to tell you and it hadn’t come yet. “I was wondering if we’re going to be okay. I mean Sabrina and I seem to be in a lot of trouble now and I’m worried about what will happen. Will you and Aunt Hilda be in trouble?” Aunt Zelda smiles a small but somewhat sad smile.

“I’m sure there will be repercussions, but I doubt it’s anything we are unable to handle.” She gently touches your cheek. “We are going to be okay. All of us.” You nod in reply. 

“Yes, Auntie.” 

“I have some important work that I need to get done tonight so I will not be down for supper. Will you let Hilda know?” 

“Of course, Auntie.” You reply. 

“Good girl.” She says as you leave the room, closing the door behind you. You know Aunt Zelda is going to continue praying. You quietly head downstairs. 

“Aunt Zelda says she’s too busy to come down for supper.” You say to Aunt Hilda as you walk in the kitchen. Sabrina looks at you with a small smile. 

“I see you’re up.”

“I am.” You reply. 

“Are you still mad at me? I was just trying to protect you.”

“Protect me from what? From becoming a full witch? From making our family proud?”

“Something wasn’t right about our baptism and you know it.”

“How would I know? I wasn’t allowed to be baptized.”

“Will you forget about the baptism?”

“If I could forget about something, it’d be you.” You reply.

“Oi!” Aunt Hilda yells, stepping between the two of you. “Don’t say that to your sister. Your Aunt Zelda and I aren’t going to live forever and neither is Ambrose. Once we’re gone, all you’ll have is each other and then you’ll regret every horrible thing you’ve ever said to each other.”

“One thing I’ve learned from Aunt Zelda is to never regret anything you say or do.” You reply. Sabrina looks at you, her brown eyes burning into yours. You see tears starting to well up in them before she rushes off to your room. Aunt Hilda looks at you.

“I can guarantee you that your Aunt Zelda isn’t as perfect as you may think she is.” She whispers harshly. “I’ve known her a lot longer than you have and I’ve seen some of the mistakes she’s made. I know some of the things she regrets doing. That’s right, your Aunt Zelda has regrets. And if she saw the way you two just acted, she’d regret everything she ever taught you.” Aunt Hilda’s words sting. You watch her leave to comfort Sabrina. 

“That was harsh, cousin,” Ambrose says as he walks into the kitchen, blood splattered goggles resting around his neck. “Sometimes I think we all forget you’re still just a child.” You look at him, waiting for an explanation.

“I’m sixteen.” You reply.

“And the Aunties are hundreds of years old. I’ve been in this house over six of your lives alone. With age comes knowledge. The three of us have knowledge you and Sabrina do not yet possess. I think we forget that and we can overact or misunderstand the things you do and say.”

“What’s your point, Ambrose?” He lets out a small chuckle.

“My point is that even though you may feel grown up, you’re still just a child. Remember how much it hurt you when Sabrina said she hated you when the two of you were three?”

“I guess.” You lie. You remember, and you remember how devastated you were because she was the only person just like you and she hated you so that meant you hated yourself too.

“She is feeling the way you did right now. Her twin sister just told her she wants to forget her.”

“You’re annoying when you’re right.” You say. He smiles. “I’m always right.”

“Where are your goggles?”

“In the embalming room, why?” He asks curiously.

“Just thought I’d ask.” You smirk as you leave the kitchen. You decide to stay away from Sabrina for a bit. You’re still angry, but you’re starting to regret saying you wish you could forget her. You sit on the couch in the parlor and stare out the window, looking at the setting sun. A few minutes later, Aunt Hilda walks by and prepares supper. You see her bring two plates upstairs and then come back down without them. You assume she brought them to Sabrina and Aunt Zelda. She then brings two plates into the parlor.

“Sabrina is still upset.” She says as she sets a plate in front of you. She sits across from you with the other plate.

“I figured as much.” You reply, taking the biscuit from the plate the tearing a small piece of it off and putting it in your mouth.

“You’ve really upset her.”

“I understand.” You reply blankly, starting to shut down emotionally from exhaustion.

“No, listen to me. You don’t get to shut yourself off until I’m done talking.” You look at her in surprise. “You’ve really hurt your sister. Your only sister.” She sighs. “Y/N, don’t let Zelda know I told you this, but we used to fight a lot when we were younger. We fought over anything and everything, toys, book, clothes, boys, who was the favorite aunt. None of it mattered. In the end, we only had each other and Diana and Edward. Then your mother and father died and we only had each other. Of course, we had the two of you,” she adds, “but you were just babies. When it came down to it, the only person that could understand my struggle of losing my brother and sister in law and having to raise my twin nieces was Zelda and the only person who could understand her struggle of losing her brother and sister in law and having to raise her twin nieces was me.” She looks into your eyes.

“Ambrose already gave me the heart to heart talk.” You reply. “But I’m grateful for your wisdom.” 

“D-did you listen to anything I just said?” She asks 

“Yes. When it comes down to it, Sabrina is all I have and I’m all she has. If something were to happen to you or Aunt Zelda tomorrow, she’d be the only person I could rely on and I’d be the only person she could rely on.”

“I’m glad you understand, love.” 

“And we’d both be the only person to know the struggle of having to care for Ambrose.” You add with a smile. 

“That’s not quite what I meant.” Aunt Hilda says as you stand up, taking the biscuit with you. “Where are you going?” 

“I’m going to go to bed. It’s been a long few days.” You reply before shoving the biscuit in your mouth. “And then tomorrow I’ll talk to Sabrina.” You say with your mouth full.

“Just apologize, darling. Some times the best thing you can do is say you're sorry and leave it at that.” You nod before heading up to your room. “And stop shoving food in your mouth like that, you’re going to choke!” She calls to you. You walk into your room and see Sabrina sitting on her bed, but she avoids your gaze. You expected her to be asleep or pretending to be asleep.

“I didn’t expect you to still be awake.” You say to her, trying to swallow the biscuit.

“I am.” She shrugs.

“Yeah.” You reply.

“It’s not that late at night.”

“I know, it’s just been a crazy couple of days.”

“I know.”

“Sabrina?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Why?”

“Because Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda can’t protect us forever and someday we’re going to be by ourselves and we’ll be stuck with Ambrose and we’re going to need each other when that comes because no one will understand your difficulty better than me and no one will understand my difficulty better than you.” 

“What are you talking about?”

“Life isn’t easy. And knowing that, I’m glad I have a sister to deal with life with me. You may annoy me and irritate me and I may do the same to you, but I wouldn’t trade that for anything in the world.”

“Not even your baptism?” She smiles a bit. 

“Not even my baptism.” You smile. There’s a mutual silence between the two of you. You change into your pajamas and Sabrina does the same. As you climb into bed you hear Edward flutter to the windowsill. He chirps for a few moments before quieting down and letting you and Sabrina fall asleep.

You wake up before Sabrina and decide to head downstairs before she does. 

“Morning.” You say to Aunt Hilda, who is cooking something, and Aunt Zelda, who is reading a newspaper.

“Good morning.” Aunt Hilda says with a soft smile. “Have you made up with Sabrina yet?”

“Did the two of you get into another argument?” Aunt Zelda asks, looking up from her newspaper.

“Yes, but Ambrose and Aunt Hilda talked to us and we worked it out.” You reply as you sit next to Aunt Zelda. She nods in approval.

“I’m glad to know something can be accomplished without interrupting me.” An awkward silence falls on the kitchen.

“Morning,” Sabrina says moments later, interrupting the silence. Aunt Zelda quickly glances up from the newspaper before Sabrina can see her and looks back at her paper, pretending to read it.

“Oh, blessed morning, child.” Aunt Hilda says quietly.

“Morning, cous.” Ambrose mumbles. Sabrina sits at the table and watches Aunt Zelda, who is still pretending to read her newspaper.

“Please, Aunt Zelda, are you never going to speak to me again?”

“You want me to speak? All right, I'll speak.” She says as she folds up her newspaper. You feel the tension rise as she does so. 

“That paper was to shield us from her.” You think to Sabrina. “You’ve unleashed the dragon’s fire.”

“You humiliated us in front of the entire coven. You dishonored the Spellman family name.” Aunt Zelda says sternly.

“Father Blackwood lied, Aunt Zelda.” Sabrina interrupts. “He sat in our parlor and told me that I'd always have a choice, that our religion is based on free will. But in the woods, that was the exact opposite of free will.”

“Beyond that, your refusal to sign the Book of the Beast goes directly against your father's explicit wishes.”

“I'm not sure that's true, either.”

“Sabrina.” Aunt Hilda says in shock.

“I'm sorry, but in the woods, during the ceremony, I saw two figures who looked like our mom and dad.”

“Like some sort of spectral vision?”

“I'm not sure what, but they definitely didn't want us to sign the Book of the Beast. They wanted us to run.” You feel uneasy at your sister’s words. You can tell that Aunt Hilda, Aunt Zelda, and Ambrose feel the same.

“We’ll discuss this later.” Aunt Zelda says. “You should get to school. Don't you have some kind of meeting today?” Sabrina looks at you as she nods and grabs her bag and coat and leaves for school. You look at Aunt Zelda once Sabrina is gone and wait for her to say something. She takes a sip from her cup before looking at you. “Are you going to begin studying again today?” She asks, her tone is nowhere near as agitated as when she spoke to Sabrina. 

“Oh, um, yes, Aunt Zelda. I’m going to do that right now.” You reply as you stand up and leave the room, hoping to shake off the uneasiness.


	5. Chapter 3 Part 1

You walk into the study and light a fire in the fireplace with the snap of your fingers. You take a random book off one of the shelves and randomly open it up. It falls onto a picture of the Dark Lord. Suddenly, the picture begins to move.

"I admire you and your sister’s defiance, girl, but you will both sign my book. You will beg to sign it.” The drawing says.

“I- I didn’t-” You stammer.

“Your sister aims to defeat me. She cannot. And do you know why? Because your flesh and her flesh is mortal, and in the end, all mortal flesh must burn.” You feel sick and toss the book onto the ground and run out of the study, past Aunt Zelda, and into the bathroom, accidently slamming the door closed. You throw up the contents of your stomach. Your body shakes in fear and a cold sweat breaks out on your body. You crawl into a ball on the bathroom floor and sit in silence. 

“Y/N?” Aunt Zelda says from the other side of the bathroom door.

“Y-yes, Auntie?” You stammer.

“Are you alright?”

“I, yeah, I’m okay.” You say, forcing yourself to stand incase Aunt Zelda opens the door. You flush the toilet, look at your reflection in the mirror, and turn on the sink, rinsing your mouth out and splashing your face with water. You dry off your face and hands and sigh. You’re still shaking in fear. You slowly open the door and jump when Aunt Zelda is still standing in front of the door. Her face changes from concerned to shocked when she sees you.

“Come into the kitchen right now.” She says, stepping out of the way and following you to the kitchen.

“Really, Aunt Zelda, I’m fine.” You complain.

“Hmm.” She replies as he places a hand on your shoulder. You sit at the kitchen table as Aunt Zelda pulls a box off one of the shelves. She pulls out two thermometers and places one under your arm and one in your mouth. She then takes out a thermometer that goes in your ear and another that rubs across your forehead. 

“Zelda, is all of that really necessary?” Aunt Hilda asks as she watches Aunt Hilda use four different thermometers. 

“Absolutely, Hilda.” Aunt Zelda says as though Aunt Hilda just asked her if blue and yellow make green. 

“She’s sixteen, she can tell you if she doesn’t feel well. It’s not like when she couldn’t talk.” She sighs as she begins to set out vegetables and meat on the counter. 

“You know as well as I do that you can never be too safe.”

“How come you don’t do this with Sabrina then? Why do you only do it to me?”

“Your immune system isn’t as strong as hers. You’re more prone to falling ill and your illnesses are more severe than hers.”

“Don’t worry, love. It’s not life threatening. Zelda is just paranoid.” Aunt Hilda rolls her eyes. The thermometers begin to beep, and Aunt Zelda begins to examine them.

“Your temperature is slightly elevated, but only slightly. If you become ill again, you will have to spend the rest of the day in bed and Hilda and I will have to prepare a potion for you.” She says. “In fact,” she stands up and looks at the things Aunt Hilda has set out, “I think we have all the things to make it anyway. We’ll brew some just in case. And if this does turn out to be a fluke thing, we will have some stocked up.” She begins to cut up the meat on the counter. You stand up to go to your room. “Where are you going? Sit down so I can keep an eye on you. If you lose consciousness, I don’t want it to be in a random part of the house.” You sit back down with a sigh. “I’ll check your temperature again in an hour.”

“I’ve only passed out like three times my whole life, Aunt Z.” You say.

“And all three of those times were because you were exhausted, and you became incredibly ill afterwards.”

“But did I die?” You smile. She glares at you before continuing her work.

“Here's a question, Aunties. How can one witch get another witch's familiar to talk?” Ambrose asks as he strolls into the kitchen with an iguana on his shoulder. Aunt Hilda immediately looks happily surprised at the iguana.

“You're not allowed a familiar, per the rules of your house arrest.” Aunt Zelda says, not caring about and completely unsurprised by the creature. 

“I found it perched on the Kemper boy's casket.” He says as he pets the iguana. “I thought if I could get it to speak, maybe I could find out how Connor died.”

“You won't be able to.” She says as she stops cutting meat. “Familiars are bound to their witches.” She casually waves the butcher knife around as she speaks. “It'll be dead soon. The greatest agony it can know is a life without its master.” She holds out her hand for the iguana. “Give it here. I'll make it quick. Hilda can fashion it into a purse.”

“No, it's mine. For now.”

“Yeah.” Hilda whispers, luckily for her Aunt Zelda doesn’t hear her.

“I'll, uh, try bribing it with some food, see if that works.” He says, taking a carrot with him. 

“Would you like a little tomato?” Aunt Hilda asks. She flinches when Aunt Zelda begins cutting the meat up again.

“Speaking of familiars, where has yours run off to?” Aunt Hilda asks you.

“Probably entranced by his own reflection.” Aunt Zelda replies. “Has he discovered you and Sabrina are identical twins and not the same person?”

“I mean, technically we’re the same person genetically.” You smile.

“The two of you are vastly different, I can assure you.” Aunt Zelda says as she chops away at the meat. “Which reminds me, your Aunt Hilda told me about your argument with Sabrina.” 

“Which one?” You ask, hoping she was referring to a petty one about moved objects or a book out of place or a borrowed hairbrush.

“The one where you wished you could forget her.” You don’t meet her eyes. She sets the knife down and waits on you to look at her

“I already apologized.” You say in weak defense.

“Good girl.” She’s silent for a moment. “Is there something you’d like to tell me about that argument?”

“No, ma’am.” You reply.

“How about how I taught you to never regret anything?” She says as she arches her eyebrows. You stare at her for a moment. “When did I teach you that?”

“I observed it. You never seem to let anything get you down and out. You don’t seem to regret anything. It’s like nothing can break or hurt you. It’s actually quite amazing.” She sighs.

“I have a lot of things I regret, Y/N.” She turns her focus from the meat to you. “I have lived and loved and lost for hundreds of years. You cannot fathom some of the things I have done and some of the things I have not done. We Spellmans are refined and proper women and we must act like it when we are outside the privacy of our own rooms. We can only act like the normal witches we are behind our own closed doors. And only when those doors are locked tightly and the windows are shaded.” You see a million memories come to her mind as she speaks, some happy, some painful, but you know she’ll never share them with anyone.

“But doesn’t that eat away at your soul and make you rot from the inside out?” You ask her.

“That is something you should know just as well as I would.” She says mysteriously. You feel a moment of panic as you suspect she can read your thoughts, but you quickly forget when Edward suddenly flies into the room with a paper, much larger than him, tied to his leg. You wonder how such a small bird can carry such a large object. He stops in front of you and screeches in irritation.

“That’s more than enough.” You scold him as you untie the string.

“Be it known…. By… Lucifer…” You read aloud. Aunt Zelda looks at you in surprise. 

“What does it say?”

“Sabrina and I are in a lot of trouble.” You say slowly, handing her the paper. 

“You’re being charged of breach of promise!” She gasps. Aunt Hilda rushes over to read the letter.

“Perhaps you should go to your room or the study while your Aunt Zelda and I discuss this, lamb.” She says.

“But why am I in trouble for this? I was dragged from by baptism.” You ask as you pick up Edward, who squawks in protest. 

“You’re twins, and depending on the offense, a lot of times, twins are seen as one person, especially if they are identical like the two of you. So, because Sabrina fled her baptism with you in tow, you’re also charged with feeling your baptism.” She replies. “We will discuss this more when Sabrina is home.” You nod and head to your room with Edward occasionally protesting. When you get to your room you close the door behind you and set Edward on the desk. He screeches at you and jumps down. You pace around the room as you wait for Sabrina to come home. Edward follows you for a bit but becomes bored and walks to the door. He claws at it, waiting on you to let him out. You open the door. He stares at you before running down the hallway. He stops at the stairs and looks at you. You follow him and he leads you down the stairs and just outside the kitchen. You crouch on the floor, hidden out of sight, and listen quietly as you hear Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda talk.

“I can’t believe it! Never has a Spellman been in such trouble!” You can hear Aunt Zelda’s heels clicking on the kitchen floor as she paces.

“Zelda, sit down. They’ve suspended our powers, so you need to save your energy.” Aunt Hilda sighs. “We’ll get this all sorted out, don’t stress yourself out too much.”

“Stress myself out? Hilda, this is a serious offense! The whole coven will be there to judge not only the twins but us.” Aunt Zelda says. She pauses briefly. You freeze and hold your breath, thinking you’ve been caught.

“Don’t give me that look, Zelda. There is nothing we can do about it right now anyway. Sabrina is at school and it’s not exactly Y/N’s fault so you can’t yell at her about it. Not that you’d ever yell at her anyway.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

“Oh please, sister. We all know Y/N is your little Zelda. She has been your favorite since that Mother’s Day when she was two and asked you to be her mother. You still have the card she gave you in your Satanic Bible.”

“I do not.” She defends herself. There is a pause in the conversation. “What is your point, sister?” Aunt Zelda says venomously.

“You’re always so hard on Sabrina, but Y/N does no wrong in your eyes.”

“What has she done wrong lately?” You flinch as you hear her slam her hand on the table. “She studies, she works hard, and she didn’t willingly flee her baptism! She didn’t try to postpone her baptism either!” There a pause of silence followed by Aunt Hilda’s chair scraping against the floor.

“Zelda, you need to sit down!” She says. You hear the two of the moving around in the kitchen followed by someone biting into something. “Oh my!” 

“Just as I thought. Not only are our powers suspended, but we’re going to age.” Aunt Zelda sighs. You hear the front door open and stand up. You hear Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda also stand.

“Aunt Zelda? Hilda? You're not goanna believe what happened at school today.” Sabrina says as she walks past you and into the kitchen. You follow behind her. Ambrose is casually sitting on the counter. 

“Oh, we can imagine.” Aunt Zelda says, holding the letter. “Do you know what this is? I'll tell you. It's an Infernal Summons.”

“A what now?”

“Well, you've been charged with a rather antiquated offense, dearest.” Aunt Hilda says, walking towards the two of you. “Breach of Promise.”

“You made a promise to sign the Dark Lord's Book of the Beast and then, when you ran in horror from your dark baptism and dragged your sister with you, you broke it and made her break it as well. You humiliated our master in front of the entire coven,” she slams the letter down on the counter, “and now, you will both be judged and tried in front of the entire coven. Never, in all my years, has a Spellman been summoned to the Court of Witches.” Sabrina carefully approaches Aunt Zelda and looks at the letter. “I don't understand. Someone is suing me?” Sabrina asks.

“The Dark Lord. He's determined to get you on the Path of Night.” Aunt Hilda says.

“I’m also being sued, sister.” You say.

“I saw him today, the Dark Lord.” Sabrina says. Shock and fear fills Aunt Zelda’s face. “He took possession of Principal Hawthorne and threatened me.” You look at Sabrina in shock. Aunt Zelda leans on the chair in front.

“Me too.” You say quietly. Aunt Zelda slams her hand against the chair.

“Did you hear that, sister?” She says angrily. “Can you imagine how enraged he must be?”

“Well, it doesn't matter!” Sabrina says loudly. “I don't want to be a part of his coven, I don't want to step foot in the Academy of Unseen Arts, and I am certainly not gonna stand trial.” Sabrina says stubbornly as she turns away from Aunt Zelda.

“Oh, you most certainly are, Sabrina.” Aunt Zelda says, matching her stubbornness as Sabrina walks away. “You've been summoned. And not only the two of you. Hilda and I as well.” Sabrina spins around and looks at the four of you. “We're on trial too.” Her voice beings to break with shame.

“That doesn't make any sense.”

“Neither does me being on trial just for being your twin!” You say to her. “Let’s not forget that.”

“Well, we're your legal guardians, lambs. So, in the eyes of the Court of the Witches, your actions are our actions.”

“We're as guilty as the two of you.”

“I’m not guilty.” You argue. 

“Don't you mean innocent?” Sabrina asks. “Innocent until proven guilty?”

“That's mortal law.” Ambrose chimes in. “Witch law is the complete opposite. Guilty until proven innocent.”

“Shouldn’t you know this? This is the basics of our laws.” You say to your sister.

“Our laws?” Sabrina asks.

“Yes, Sabrina. Our laws. We’re witches. This is witch law.”

“Do you know what this is?” Aunt Zelda asks, interrupting your argument and holding something small out in front of her. “It's your Aunt Hilda's tooth. Aunt Hilda flashes a smile at the two of you and you can see the hole in her mouth. “We have been stripped of our powers. Which means that we will age and rot, rapidly, until a verdict is reached.” She tosses the tooth in the jar as she sits back down. “Your trial begins at midnight.” You stare at Aunt Zelda in shock.

“A-age and rot? Could you die?” You ask.

“Wait, you’re going to die?” Sabrina asks. 

“Eventually.” Aunt Zelda sighs.

“Like tonight? Could you die tonight?” You ask in a panic.

“No, love, not tonight. It’s not that quick.” Aunt Hilda smiles gently as she places a hand on your shoulder.

“I-I don’t want you to die. We can’t do anything without the two of you. Who is going to overreact when I get sick or, or yell at Sabrina when she does she opposite of what she’s told or teach me to make potions or stop Sabrina and I from fighting?” You say, starting to pace.

“We aren’t going to die. Once we get all of this sorted out, our powers will be restored, yours included.” Aunt Zelda sighs.

“Do you promise?” You stop in front of her. You used to make her promise things when you were a child and upset about something.

“Really, Y/N. You’re not a child anymore.” Aunt Zelda forces a reassuring smile as she rolls her eyes. You continue to stare at her with worried eyes. She sighs. “Yes, I promise. Your Aunt Hilda and I will be just fine.” You nod. “I suggest the two of you prepare for your trial.” She says after a moment of silence. You follow Sabrina out of the kitchen and into Ambrose’s room, where he joins you moments later. 

“I didn't promise the Dark Lord anything. I didn't sign the Book of the Beast. And yet, I still have to go to court and be punished. Can't I fight this somehow?” Sabrina asks Ambrose as she sits on his bed. You sit next to her. 

“No, for once in our lives, don’t fight this. Let’s just sign our names and get it over with. We’ll all get our powers back, we’ll be full witches, and everything will be fine.” You sigh.

“You can, but you'll need help.” Ambrose says, ignoring you.

“Damnit, Ambrose.” You sigh.

“Have you ever heard of a man named Daniel Webster?” 

“I don't think so.” Sabrina says.

“He's a lawyer and occultist who specializes in witch law.” He says as he sits between you and Sabrina. “Total legend. He's mortal, but, uh, he's rumored to have once beaten the Devil himself.”

“We’re in.” Sabrina says.

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Wait, we are not in. You are in. I am not.”

“What if the Aunties don’t get their powers back when we sign? What if we get a worse punishment when we sign?”

“What are the chances of that happening?” You ask Ambrose.

“Well, I can’t guarantee that you won’t face any repercussions.” Ambrose says slowly.

“Alright, I’ll do it.” Sabrina smiles at you. “But I’m not doing it for you.” You say to her, looking into her eyes. “I’m doing this for our family to get us out of the trouble you’ve caused.”

“Where does he live?” Sabrina asks. 

“That's the kismet part.” Ambrose produces a business card. “He lives right here. In Greendale.”

“Willingly? Why?”

“Some people like Greendale.” You reply.

“Who?”

“Me.”

“Of course you do.” Sabrina rolls her eyes.

“Don't know. Bit reclusive, maybe?”

“We’ll head there now.” Sabrina says with determination.

“Should we bring the summons as proof?” You ask. “We can’t just show up to someone’s house and say we need help with the Dark Lord without any proof.”

“You go get it.” Sabrina says. “They won’t suspect you.” You sigh and head downstairs. Aunt Hilda is the only one in the kitchen, her back is to you as she does the dishes. You quickly grab the letter and hide it under your shirt. You then grab an apple from a bowl of fruit and head upstairs to give you an excuse in case she asked why you were there.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Aunt Hilda asks as she turns to face you.

“I wanted an apple.” You say, holding the fruit out to her innocently.

“Alright, but just the one. And don’t be throwing the core out the window again.” She says.

“Yes, ma’am.” You reply as you take a bite of the apple. She returns to doing the dishes and you head back upstairs to Ambrose’s room.

“Did you get it?” Sabrina asks.

“Of course I got it.” You reply as you hand her the letter. 

“Great.” She smiles. “Let’s go.” You sigh as you follow Sabrina to Ambrose’s window. She opens it and carefully climbs out of it, standing on the roof. You join her, placing the apple in your mouth. The two of you carefully climb toward the ground, trying to stay away from windows to avoid anyone’s attention.

“This would be easier if we had our powers.” You complain.

“Shut up.” Sabrina rolls her eyes. The two of you take off for Mr. Webster’s house and make it there just after the sun has set. 

“Who should do the talking?” You ask when his house comes into view, tossing the apple core onto the ground as you walk..

“I should.”

“I feel like that’s a bad idea.”

“Then why did you ask?”

“I was hoping you’d say me.”

“Do you want to speak?”

“Not really, but I am the voice of reason of the two of us.” You shrug. Sabrina rolls her eyes as the two of you walk up to his door. Sabrina knocks. You hear locks clicking on the door before it opens.

“Yes?” A man asks. You can’t make out his features in the shadows.

“Are you Daniel Webster?” You and Sabrina ask at the same time.

“No. Why? What do you want?”

“My name is Sabrina Spellman.”

“And I’m Y/N Spellman.”

“Spellman?” He asks.

“Yes.” You reply.

“And we need a lawyer to fight the Devil.” He opens his door and the two of you walk inside.

“I'd offer you a seat, but that would encourage you to stay, so-”

“Mr. Webster, we’re being charged with Breach of Promise. I ran from my Dark Baptism and took my twin sister with me. You know what that is, right?” Sabrina asks him as she hands him the summons. You look around the house to see stacks of papers and books scattered around the house. You’d love to see what they all say. 

“Oh, yeah. I'm familiar. So what? You, uh, born agains? Renounced Satan?”

“No. No, w-were half-witches. They lied and coerced me, but I didn't sign the Book of the Beast.”

“She drug me away before I could sign.” You add.

“And now our family is being punished. We have to be in court tonight, in a few hours, and we heard you might be able to help us.” He looks at the two of you.

“Our aunts, who have raised us since our parents died, might die, Mr. Webster. Witches live longer than mortals because of their powers. Because of us, they’ve been stripped of their powers and will age rapidly until they turn to dust. Can’t you do something?” You ask him, hoping to appeal to his humanity.

“No. Sorry. I don't practice anymore.” He says as he pours a drink. “Breach of Promise, that's tricky.” He takes a drink. “Well, good luck to you both.” The two of you leave his house, Sabrina slams the door behind her. 

“That was a waste of time.” You sigh.

“What do we do now?”

“We hope the Dark Lord has mercy on us and the Aunties. That’s really all we can do.” You say as you begin to walk.

“You sound like Aunt Zelda.” Sabrina rolls her eyes. "Would Aunt Zelda do this?" You ask as you pick up the now brown apple core and throw it as hard as you can at Mr. Webster's house. It hits the door and falls to the ground. 

“She’s right though. Hope is all we have at this point.” You notice the apple core you dropped on your way to the house. "Would Aunt Zelda do this?" You ask with a smirk as you pick up the now brown apple core and throw it as hard as you can at Mr. Webster's house. It hits the door and falls to the ground. Sabrina lets out a laugh as the two of you run away from the house and back to you own. You quietly sneak back into the house through Ambrose’s window. You quickly rush to your room and Sabrina pretends to work on homework while you pretend to read your scriptures. As soon as the two of you are settled, Aunt Zelda walks into the room. She’s wearing sunglasses and a scarf to cover her hair. You force yourself not to laugh at her outfit, she looks like she’s about to be driven around in a limo in the California sun, not about to attend a trial in the middle of the night. 

“It’s time for us to leave for your trial.” She glances at you. “I’m glad to see one of you is trying to gain the Dark Lord’s favor.” You almost feel guilty for sneaking out, but at the same time you feel defeated because you couldn’t help Aunt Zelda.

“Yes, Auntie.” You and Sabrina say at the same time. You close your book and change into a more appropriate outfit before following the two of them downstairs. Aunt Hilda is waiting at the door, also wearing a scarf on her head. The walk to the church is silent except for the sound of Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda’s breath as they struggle to walk the long distance form the house to the church.

“Remember, ladies,” Aunt Zelda breaths as she stops all of you outside the church, “we carry ourselves with aplomb and dignity. We admit our wrongs, accept our punishment, and try to put this whole sordid mess behind us. Isn't that right, girls?” Thunder booms in the distance.

“Yes, Aunt Zelda.” You say.

“Do I have a choice?” Sabrina asks.

“Not really, no.” The four of you walk into the church and take your seats. You sit between Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda, clinging to Aunt Zelda’s coat. Sabrina sits on the other side of Aunt Hilda.

“We, the profane gather here tonight in this sacrilegious Court to serve the Dark Lord's justice. A deplorable crime has been committed against our master and savior.” Father Blackwood says, his eyes moving from Sabrina to you.

“Hail Satan! Praise him!” The crowd says. You mouth the words with everyone, but you can’t make your voice work.

“Sabrina Spellman and her twin sister, Y/N Spellman stand accused before The Infernal Three, guilty of breaking their promise, their pledge, to the Dark Lord.”

“Sabrina Spellman and Y/N Spellman, stand.” The Infernal Three hiss. You quickly stand. Aunt Zelda irritatedly nudges Sabrina and she stands.

“When the older accused is confirmed guilty, not only will she abandon her mortal life immediately, but, upon her death, she shall burn for three hundred and thirty-three years in the Pit, as his pleasure demands. When the younger accused is confirmed guilty, she shall be separated from her aunts and sister for two hundred years and also burn for three hundred and thirty-three years in the Pit, as his pleasure demands.” The crowd erupts in applause. Your heart stops. Two hundred years away from your family. Where would you go? What would you do without your family? You look at Aunt Zelda in a panic, you cant see her eyes behind her sunglasses but Aunt Hilda's face mimics your own. 

“Accused, how plead you?” A creature, you aren’t sure what, says when the crowd is quieted. You open your mouth, but no sound comes out.

“I-I” Sabrina stammers. 

“They plead not guilty.” Mr. Webster says as he throws open the doors of the church. Gasps are heard from the crowd. 

“Mr. Webster. You are not unknown to this court, but you are unwelcome, sir, and uninvited.” Father Blackwood says.

“Untrue, sir. Where my clients go, I follow.”

“Clients?” Aunt Zelda says as she stands up. “Girls?”

“He's our lawyer, Aunt Zelda.” Sabrina says with a slight smile. Mr. Webster tosses his briefcase into the table. 

“We will have a short recess for the Spellman twins to get their bearings with their…. lawyer.” Father Blackwood says. The five of you step outside into the darkness.

“As if things weren't dire enough, you go and hire this mortal pettifogger behind our backs! And Y/N, I expected more of you!” Aunt Zelda says as she begins to pace. 

"They're going to take me away." You whisper in fear. "Aunt Hilda they're going to take me away!" You say to her, grabbing her arm in a panic.

“With all due respect, madam, I am well-versed in witch law.” Mr. Webster says, challenging Aunt Zelda.

“Oh, I know exactly who you are, Mr. Webster. I remember you sniffing around my brother years ago. A hanger-on, a dilettante.” She whispers venomously. 

“Wait. You knew our father?” Sabrina asks.

“He's the reason I came to Greendale. Your father taught me witch law offered me comfort when there was none. He helped me out. I'd like to return the favor.” He says softly. The church bell rings, letting you all know it is time to return to court.

“Please, Aunt Zelda, I can explain-” Sabrina say quickly.

“No, Sabrina. No explanations. The two of you have made your choices, now you must deal with the consequences.” She says harshly as she walks to the church. The rest of you follow behind her.

“Are we ready?” Father Blackwood asks. “Alright then, will the Spellman Twins please come up?” The two of you walk up to the stage. “Do you know what Breach of Promise means, Miss Spellman and Miss Spellman?”

“It's when you make a promise, and then break it. Which we, categorically, did not do.” Sabrina says.

“It is most commonly invoked when a groom runs out on a bride he's promised to wed. I only mention that, because, well, were you and the Dark Lord not courting in advance of your Dark Baptism?”

"Courting’? In what way?” Sabrina asks.

"They're going to take me away." You think to yourself. That's all your mind focuses on.

“Did you not willingly go into the woods that night? Wearing, of all things, a wedding dress?” You hear clapping the crowd. “Fact is, you gave every indication that it was your intention to fulfill a promise made. You showed up for a ceremony you'd committed to and then, at the moment of consummation, you fled.” He pauses. “You broke your promise. That's all.”

“Guilty!” A man yells.

“Tramps!” A woman yells. You grab your sister’s hand trying to find where the voices are coming from. You don’t recognize them.

“People I don’t even know are calling us tramps. Does everyone think we’re tramps? Why do they want to separate us?” You think to yourself. You feel tears well up in your eyes. Father Blackwood sits down, and Mr. Webster rises.

“Girls,” he says softly, “members of the court,” he says a little louder, “where is the tangible proof? If this baptism is to be considered a wedding, where is the marriage license? The blood tests this great township demands? Show me the signatures! Hell, show me the groom!” You jump as the Infernal Three hit their gavels. “No contract. No promise. No case.” Murmurs dance among the crowd.

“Your Dishonors,” Father Blackwood says when Mr. Webster sits back down, “I'd like to submit into evidence our most unholy grimoire, the Book of the Beast.” He says as he places the book in front of Sabrina. “Miss Spellman, would you be so kind as to open it to the page I've indicated?” You watch Aunt Zelda shield her face from the trial.

“She’s so ashamed of us she can’t look at us.” You think to yourself. “We’re tramps and everyone knows it.”

“Would you please read the name that's been written there?” Father Blackwood asks as he places his cane on the book. “Nice and loud, child.”

“It says, ‘Sabrina Spellman.” She says quietly. “But I don't understand this. This is dated only a few days after I was-” You lean over to see if your name is also in the book, but it isn’t.

“Your Dishonors, are we to believe that a baby signed the Book of the Beast three days after she was born? I notice that her twin sister didn’t sign the book. If the older twin was able to sign at just three days old, why didn’t the younger twin sign? This is obviously a fraud, a blatant forgery.” Mr. Webster yells when he examines the book.

“I call to the stand Zelda Phiona Spellman.” Father Blackwood says blankly. She looks up. You aren’t sure who she’s looking at, she’s still wearing her sunglasses.

“What? Impossible!” A woman in the crowd gasps.

“Aunt Zelda, what's happening?” Sabrina whispers as Aunt Zelda walks past the two of you as you head to your seats and Aunt Zelda walks up to the stand. Sabrina sits with Mr. Webster and you sit by Aunt Hilda. She gently places an arm around you. You lean into her, unsure of what is going on and feeling overwhelmed and terrified at the thought of being taken away. 

“Ms. Spellman. Zelda. Take us back to this date written here.” Father Blackwood says, pointing to Sabrina’s name in the book.

“Of course, Your Excellency. I-I accompanied my brother into the Greendale Wood. In his arms, he carried his newborn daughter Sabrina, the firstborn of the twins. When we reached a clearing, he placed the babe on an altar,” she pauses, “and signed her name in the Book of the Beast.” She pauses again. “Promising her soul to the Dark Lord.” The crowd applauds.

“What?” Sabrina whispers.

“And with that, we will adjourn for the evening.” Father Blackwood says. You sit in shock and confusion as the crowd stands up, talks among themselves, and eventually leaves. 

“Come on, love, we’re done for the night.” Aunt Hilda says as she stands up. She pulls you to your feet. Sabrina also stands.

“I will see you all tomorrow. Goodnight.” Mr. Webster says quickly before leaving.

“Goodnight Mr. Webster.” Sabrina says.

“G-Goodnight.” You mumble. 

“Come on.” Sabrina says as she grabs your arm.

“Where are we going?” You ask.

“Home.”

“What about Aunt-”

“They can make it home on their own.” She says as she tugs at you.

“We’re all walking home together.” Aunt Hilda says sternly. Sabrina stares at her for a moment. Aunt Zelda joins the three of you and Sabrina stops talking and lets go of you.

“Let’s go home, girls.” Aunt Zelda sighs tiredly. No one responds. The four of you begin your walk home and no one says a word. You shiver in the cold and sneeze, but no one says anything. You expect to be bombarded with thermometers again when you reach the house. Tears well up in your eyes at the thought of not having Aunt Zelda to check your temperature at every sign of an illness. The walk seems to take three times as long with the silence hanging over all of you. But it only remains silent until you all walk into the house and hang up your coats and Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda put away their scarves.

“Now it makes sense!” Sabrina yells moments after everyone started to get settled. “All your strong-arming trying to get me to sign. You were just trying to cover up the fact that you had already pawned me off to the Dark Lord like a used car.” 

“You were never meant to find out!” Aunt Zelda yells in response. “You were meant to choose the Path of Night and sign your name willingly. That way-”

“That way, I never would've found out about my father's betrayal and yours?” Sabrina continues her argument.

“Edward needed a witness.” Aunt Zelda defends herself.

“Why would he do that to me?” She asks, tears falling from her face.

“A certain bargain had been struck, and the price your father paid for it was your name in that book.”

“What could've been worth it?” 

“Permission to marry your mother. The Dark Lord granted it in exchange for-”

“For me, his daughter. And you stood there, and you watched him do it, Aunt Zelda! You helped him do it!” Sabrina yells before running off to your room. There is a tense silence in the room. You sit in a chair opposite Aunt Hilda and hug your knees to your chest, trying to make yourself as quiet and small as possible, hoping you could avoid your Aunt Zelda’s wrath. She notices you and walks off. You feel tears forming in your eyes. Mutt. Tramp. Half-breed. Useless. Good for nothing. The names you’ve been called echo through your head as you think about how every single one of them is true and how Aunt Zelda must also think all of them are true. She must be glad that you might have to go away for two hundred years. 

“Open your mouth.” Aunt Zelda says. You jump, you hadn’t noticed she returned. You look at her and see her box of thermometers in one hand and a thermometer in the other. You open your mouth and she places a thermometer in your mouth. She then places one under your arm and holds one in your ear as she rubs another across your forehead. You sit still, hoping that she won’t be upset with you, or at least say she’s upset with you. You avoid her gaze.

“I’m very disappointed with you Y/N.” She says sternly. “Hiring a mortal lawyer? I expected something this foolish from Sabrina, but not you. Not willingly.” The thermometers beep and she removes them. She examines their readings and puts them back in the box as she does so. “What made you do something so stupid?”

“I-I I didn’t want you to…” You trail off.

“To what?” She asks, somewhat irritated.

“To die.” You blurt out. “What if Sabrina and I signed our names and were punished for our wrongdoing but you and Aunt Hilda never got your powers back? You’d be gone in like two months and it’d be my fault because I didn’t sign my name and-”

“That’s enough, niece.” Aunt Zelda stops you. She sighs. “We’ve all had a long day and a long night. We will deal with this tomorrow night. Right now, I don’t want to hear another word. Go upstairs and get some rest.” You stare at her for a moment. She’s never spoken so coldly to you before.

“Y-yes, ma’am.” You reply quietly. You stand up and slowly head to you room. You stop at the top of the stairs and listen to Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda speak.

“I told you I could be hard on Y/N.” Aunt Zelda says.

“Oh, Zelda,” Aunt Hilda sighs, “that’s not what I meant. This isn’t the time to be hard on anyone. I meant with little things, like how she snuck into the kitchen today and took the summons letter or how she and Sabrina snuck out of the house to go talk to that lawyer. Not with something like this. Didn’t you see her in the church? How overwhelmed she was? There were a couple times where I thought she and Sabrina were going to break down and cry, especially when that woman called them tramps. Not to mention Y/N is faced with being taken away from us and Sabrina, the only family and home she's ever known.” You hear one of them stand and you quickly go into your bedroom before they notice you were spying. You hear Sabina sniffle from her bed.

“Why wasn’t your name in the book?” She asks you bitterly.

“I don’t know.” You reply quietly. “Maybe it’s like the fairy tales Aunt Zelda used to read to us, the firstborn was always sacrificed and you’re the firstborn.”

“But it doesn’t make sense how in witch law, we’re seen as one but with this deal, we’re seen as two separate people.”

“That’s because we weren’t even thought of yet when the deal was made. If Mother was pregnant with us when the deal was made, we’d probably both be in that book. But because the deal was made before they were even married, we aren’t.” You guess as you climb into bed.

“It just isn’t fair.”

“Our whole lives aren’t fair.” You force a laugh. “I mean, I’m in trouble for your actions, you’re in trouble for Mother and Father’s actions, Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda are in trouble for both our actions. Someone is in trouble for something someone else does. But that is how life works. And there’s nothing we can do about it but live.” You stare at the ceiling and close your eyes. “There’s a funeral tomorrow.” You say, trying to change the conversation to something else.

“I know.”

“I can’t help but think about that boy. I mean we could have easily ended up like him.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it, if Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda hadn’t taken us in, we’d be adopted by someone else, probably mortals. We’d be just as exposed as he was, and we’d be easy to kill. Aunt Zelda says that witches without covens are easy targets so just imagine how easy we’d be, it’s not like we’re just common people. There aren’t exactly a lot of identical twins in Greendale. I’m sure a lot of witch hunters know the name Spellman too. Once they knew Mother and Father were dead and their twin daughters were put up for adoption, it wouldn’t be difficult to track us down.”

“That’s a horrible thought to have before bed.” Aunt Hilda says softly as she stands in the doorway. 

“But not entirely wrong.” You say softly. "And nowhere near as horrible as being taken away for two hundred years." 

“It will be okay, darling. Try to calm down a bit and get some rest, girls. Today has been a difficult day for everyone.”

“Yes, Auntie.” You and Sabrina say at the same time. She smiles at the two of you before walking to her room. The two of you stay silent and eventually fall asleep. You wake up to Sabrina moving around the room, getting ready for school.

“Going to talk to the mortal boy?” You ask sleepily.

“His name is Harvey.” She says. “And yes, I am.”

“If you happen to stop by a candy shop on your way to school, can you get me something blue? The blue candy is always the best.”

“There’s no candy shop in Greendale.” Sabrina says, forcing a smile.

“That’s why I said if you happen to stop by one. You never know, one could magically open up.” You force yourself to smile back as you sit up in bed. 

“I’ll see you after school.” Sabrina says.

“Aren’t you going to eat breakfast?”

“No, I think it’s best if I avoid Aunt Hilda and Zelda.” Sabrina says. “Good luck with them.”

“They’ll mostly ignore me today since there’s a funeral.” You shrug. “It’ll be easy until you get home and we have the trial again.” You hug yourself thinking of the trial the night before and the idea of being taken away. Sabrina is quiet.

“We’ll get through it.” She finally says before walking out of the room. You climb out of bed and dress in a long-sleeved black gown that reaches your ankles. You place a black headband in your hair and slip on shiny black shoes. You aren’t entirely fond of the outfit, but Aunt Zelda always prefers you to wear it to funerals. You hide in your room, pretending to study your scriptures until Ambrose is sent to fetch you.

“People will be arriving soon, cousin.” Ambrose says from the doorway of your room. He is wearing a hideous orange jacket. You follow him downstairs. He stands next to the coffin, opposite of where the boy’s parents will stand, and you take your place in the back of the room. Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda are out of sight, but still watching over the service incase something were to go wrong.

“Welcome to the Spellman Sister Mortuary. I am Y/N Spellman.” You greet a couple as they enter the room. “You must be Connor’s parents.” You say to them.

“Yes, we are.” The man says as he shakes your hand. “Where are the two older women? Surely you aren’t one of the Spellman sisters.”

“I am a Spellman sister. But the sisters you are talking about are my aunts. They are overseeing another funeral at the moment.” You lie. “I assure you that my cousin, Ambrose, and I are perfectly capable of handling anything or answering any questions you may have.” You assure the couple. They nod and take their place by the coffin. More people begin to shuffle into the room.

“Good morning.” Someone says to you as he walks past.

“Good morning. Welcome to the Spellman Sisters Mortuary. I’m Y/N Spellman.” You say to him. You watch as he stays by the doorway. You head towards the front of the room to speak to the parents. Ambrose decides to speak to the man.

“He was such a wonderful boy.” A woman says to the boy’s parents.

“He was.” Mrs. Kemper replies.

“I just can’t believe he’s gone.”

“Surely you can think of better things to say.” You think to yourself as you wait on her to finish.

“We’re you his girlfriend?” The woman turns her attention to you.

“No, ma’am. I never met him. I’m Y/N Spellman. My aunts own and run the mortuary.”

“By themselves?”

“Yes, they have since my mother and father passed.” You answer.

“You’re an orphan?” Mrs. Kemper asks.

“Not exactly.” You reply. “My aunts take very good care of my twin sister and I.”

“Oh, we would have loved to have twins, Connor always wanted a little brother or sister.” Mrs. Kemper sobs. The other woman comforts her. You freeze, unsure of what to do. You look to Ambrose for help and see the man leave. You politely excuse yourself and walk to your cousin.

“Who was that?” You whisper to him.

“I think he’s a warlock. He dated Connor.”

“Fascinating.” You reply. “Who is giving the eulogy?” You ask.

“You do the indoors stuff, I’ll do the outdoors.” He says. You sigh, you hate giving eulogies. You walk towards the front of the room and look at everyone. 

“We are gathered here to today to mourn the loss of this young man.” You say. “He was a kind soul and loved spending time with his iguana. He was adopted by his parents when he was a baby. He was a model student and loving son. Please bow your heads in prayer.” You internally groan as you watch people bow their heads to the False God. “Dear Lord and Heavenly Father, we are gathered here to mourn the loss of your son, Connor. Please be with him and guide his spirit so that he may find peace in your loving embrace. Be with his friends and family as they mourn his loss and watch over them. In Christ’s name, amen.” 

“Amen.” The crowd repeats.

“Would anyone like to come up and say a few things about Connor?” You ask the small crowd. There is a few moments of hesitation before people begin to volunteer. You step away from the podium and let people tell their stories. When they’re all finished, you quickly dismiss the crowd. “Thank you all for coming. If you would please follow Ambrose, he will lead you to your cars.” You motion to Ambrose. “The pallbearers may come up and take the casket to the hearse. The hearse will take you all to the graveyard.” You watch as people file out of the room and a few men come and take the casket away. You breathe a sigh of relief when the casket and all the people are gone. You begin to clean up the room a bit, unsure of what else to do.

“That was a lovely eulogy.” Aunt Hilda says as she slowly walks into the room. Aunt Zelda walks in behind her. You avoid looking at them, it hurts too much to see them age so quickly and think of not seeing them for two hundred years.

“It was rather short though.” Aunt Zelda comments.

“You can’t expect perfection from me.” You say curtly. “I’m only sixteen and it’s not like I had a lot of time to prepare.” You say as you sit down by the window.

“I do not appreciate your tone.” Aunt Zelda says to you warningly.

“Sorry.” You shrug with a yawn. You pretend not to see Aunt Zelda’s venomous look as you kick off your shoes.

“Tramp.” The woman’s voice from last night echoes in your mind again. You quickly slip your shoes back on. You pull your knees up to your chest and make sure your dress hides your body. 

“I can’t be a tramp if my dress covers my whole body.” You think to yourself. You feel your body tense up as you continue to think of last night.

“Are you alright, love?” Aunt Hilda asks as she takes a seat next to you.

“I’m fine.” You breathe.

“Do you feel alright?” Aunt Zelda asks, her tone changing.

“I’m fine.” You repeat. You stand up, avoiding Aunt Zelda’s eyes. She reaches out to touch you. “I’m going to study my scriptures for tonight.” You say quickly, dodging her touch. You rush upstairs to your room. You try to spin out of your dress and into your favorite outfit and remember that you don’t have your powers after you fail to summon the new outfit. You throw yourself onto your bed in and let out a frustrated groan. You stare at Sabrina’s picture of your Mother and Father. “Sabrina and I are in so much trouble.” You say to the picture. “You’d be ashamed of what we’ve done, of how we’ve treated the few people that care about us.” You sigh. “They called us tramps. We’ve been called mutts and half-breeds. We’ve been told we’re useless and worthless. The Weird Sisters told us all of that the first time we ever met them. But we’ve never been called tramps. But maybe we are tramps. I don’t know anymore. They want to take me away. Away from Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda and Sabrina. They want to take me from the only family and home I've ever known. I’m-I’m so confused and, and frightened. I don’t know what to do anymore or what to say.”

“I told you that Spellmans lock the door when they release their regrets.” Aunt Zelda says from the doorway, causing you to jump.

“Aunt Zelda, I-”

“Hush.” She says softly as she sits on your bed next to you.

“I just don’t know anymore.” You whimper.

“It’s okay to not know.” She says, wrapping you in a hug. You wrap your arms around her, listening to her heartbeat.

“What if your powers aren’t restored?”

“They will be.”

“How do you know? Sabrina and I really messed up. We can’t lose you. Sabrina is mad at you, but she’d be devastated if something happened at you and I don’t know what I’d do, you’re the closest person I have to a mother.” Aunt Zelda is silent for a moment.

“Nothing will happen to me.” She sighs.

“Are Sabrina and I tramps?”

“No, of course not. If any Spellman is a tramp, it’s Ambrose.” She says, laughing at her own comment.

“What if Sabrina and I lose the trial?”

“Then the two of you will be punished and we will go from there.” 

“What if they take me away from you?” You ask.

“They won’t.” She says dangerously. You feel her grip on you tighten.

“But what if they do? What if the Dark Lord follows through and takes me away? I won't see you for two hundred years!” Tears form in your eyes. 

“Do you really think anyone besides your Aunt Hilda and I could handle you?” She smiles.

“No, but do you really think that would stop the Dark Lord?”

“No one will take you away from me, not even the Dark Lord. I will not allow anyone to lay a finger on you.” She says fiercely. 

“I’m sorry we snuck out and talked to the lawyer.” You hold onto her tighter, as though letting go would mean you would disappear from her arms.

“There is nothing we can do about that now. What we can do is pray to the Dark Lord and read our scriptures like good witches. If we are lucky, the Dark Lord will notice and have mercy on us.” She says as she lets you go. You aren't sure, but it almost sounds like her voice is cracking.

“Yes, Auntie.” You reply. She gives you a small smile, runs her fingers through your hair, and stands up slowly, her joints obviously hurting her. “Is there anything I can do to help you and Aunt Zelda?” You ask her as she begins to walk out of the room.

“No, you’ve done more than enough helping with the funeral. Hilda and I couldn’t show our faces to all those people, especially when they know us as being young and beautiful.” You see her glance at her reflection in the mirror on the wall. “Just study your scriptures and pray for mercy for all of us,” she stands up, “and pray for wisdom for your sister.” She adds before leaving. You take your Satanic Bible out from under your pillow and being to thumb through it, finding more interest in the little things you’ve stored in it over the years than the actual scripture. You keep a lot of things in your Satanic Bible, some pictures, a few notes, some spells, and a few cards from birthdays and holidays. You look at the pictures, most of them are pictures from when you were given a camera. You loved to hide in places around the house and jump out and get a picture. Aunt Zelda confiscated all the pictures of her before you could hide them in your Satanic Bible. As you think back on your camera, you hear the front door open and close followed by someone rushing up the stairs.

“We have a problem.” Sabrina says urgently as she walks into you room.

“We always have a problem.” You smile.

“No, we have a big problem.”

“That’s not new.”

“Mr. Webster frees monsters.”

“Like summons demons?” You ask, furrowing your brow.

“No, he takes on the cases of murderers and rapists and cannibals and has set every single one of them free into the world.”


	6. Chapter 3 Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to follow me on Tumblr, Lucina1998. I mostly just repost CAoS stuff, but I also try to post links to new chapters when they’re up.

“Why are you helping us? What do you want out of this, Defender of the Damned?” Sabrina asks Mr. Webster as she barges into his house with you in tow.

“Oh.” Mr. Webster says somewhat knowingly. “Okay. So, you know.” Mr. Webster sighs.

“The people you've helped set free, murderers and monsters! The kinds of crimes they've committed-”

“Everyone's entitled to a defense.” Mr. Webster defends himself.

“Not you. You're fired.” Sabrina says.

“That’s a stupid idea.” You say to her.

“What?”

“He’s the only person willing to help us. We’ve kind of gotten ourselves into a shitty position when he barged into the court room. We can’t exactly go out and get another lawyer.” You say.

“I don’t care. He’s just as much a monster as the people he helped set free.” She says as she begins to leave.

“Wait! Sabrina, stop.” Mr. Webster stops her. “I've been where you are right now, trapped by the Devil. I made a deal, a long time ago, to be the greatest lawyer in the world. I was young and ambitious. And I signed my name away. A different book but the same beast. And what do you know? I started winning cases. And by the time I realized the only cases I got were the most depraved, the most obscene, it was too late. And that was his little trick, you see. And there's always a trick. And a price.” He pauses. You and Sabrina look at him intently. “I set a man free who had done unspeakable things to a number of women. And after I freed him, when I wasn't home, he broke in and he did those things to my daughter.”

“Oh, no.” Sabrina whispers as she grabs your hand.

“Now, I know that I have done more than my share of bad in the past. But I think that I might be able to save you two.” He says, looking at you intently. He holds your joined hands and squeezes them. “If you'll let me. It's a long shot but maybe.”

“Thank-you Mr. Webster.” You say after a moment of silence. “You are not fired. We need you to help us. Even if you can’t save us, we are grateful for you help.” You look into his eyes and see a bit of relief.

“Y-yes, thank-you.” Sabrina whispers. “We’d better get to the church. Will we see you there?”

“Of course.” Mr. Webster says. The two of you excuse yourselves and head towards the church. 

“Why did you say all of that stuff?” Sabrina asks you when Mr. Webster’s house is out of view. 

“Do you know why he is trying to save us?” You ask her. “He’s trying to make peace. His mind is one full of regret and torment for what he’s done with his career and for what happened to his daughter. I think he sees a bit of his daughter in us and if he saves us, in a way, he saves his daughter.” Sabrina is quiet at your words. “It’s funny how mortals think. By doing one thing, they think they can fix another but deep down, they know they aren’t fixing anything.” Sabrina nods, unsure of how to respond. You walk home in silence and meet Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda at the door.

“Are you girls ready?” Aunt Hilda asks. Aunt Zelda remains silent, something she’s chosen to do to show Sabrina she’s upset with her.

“Yes, Auntie.” Sabrina says. The four of you walk to the church again. The bell tolls as you approach, letting you know it is time for court to begin. You step into the church and take your places, Mr. Webster is already there. Once everyone is settled, Mr. Webster begins.

“I call Zelda and Hilda Spellman to the stand.” He says. Your aunts approach the stand, Aunt Zelda looks up proudly while Aunt Hilda keeps her eyes nervously on Mr. Webster and occasionally glances at you and Sabrina. “Ms. Spellman, both you and your sister are certified midwives.”

“Yes.” Aunt Zelda says proudly.

“Yes.” Aunt Hilda says quietly.

“You have delivered many babies in the witch community, including your own twin nieces, Sabrina and Y/N.” He says, motioning to the two of you.

“Yes.”

“Yes.” Aunt Hilda’s voice has a bit of softness in it as she remembers the night you and Sabrina were born.

“Can you verify for the court, then were Sabrina and Y/N born of mortal woman?”

“They were, yes.”

“Absolutely, yes.”

“Making them half-witch, half-mortal and, therefore, only half-subject to the laws of this court!”

“This is absurd, Your Dishonors.” Father Blackwood interrupts. 

“No, sir, it is their right!” Mr. Webster argues, point his finger at the two of you. “I demand a jury of mortals!” The crowd erupts in mummers and gasps. “And a change of venue! I reject the authority of this court over my clients!” You and Sabrina keep straight faces. Sabrina is trying to appear strong and you are trying to not look nervous.

“Disorder in the court!” The Infernal Three yell as they bang their gavels, quieting the crowd. Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda return to their seats. 

“The prosecution and witching community are familiar with human law, Mr. Webster.” Father Blackwood says as he stands. “If Sabrina and Y/N’s true, dominant nature is to be determined mortal or witch, so be it. We shall invoke human laws to test them.” He stands in front of the two of you.

“That is not what I was suggesting.” Mr. Webster says, standing up.

“One,” Father Blackwood continues, “We may subject them to trial by water.” Gasps emerge from the crowd. “They will be bound and dropped into the river. If they float, they are witches. If they drown, they’re human. And free to go.”

“Unacceptable!” Mr. Webster yells.

“Or two: The accused will submit to being stripped and examined, in full view of the coven, for a witch's mark upon their bodies.” You look back at Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda. Aunt Zelda looks at the two of you over her sunglasses, seeming to warn you against the idea. “Should a mark be identified, this trial continues, uninterrupted. Should no mark be found, this court will be forced to recognize their so-called ‘humanity’. You have until tomorrow night to decide.” There a long silence. “Court adjourned.” Everyone stands and leaves, once again, your family is the last to leave. 

“We should go with option two.” You think to Sabrina. “At least we’ll just lose our dignity and self-respect instead of our lives.” She nods as you continue to walk home. No one says a word until you’re all back at the house and all the coats are put away. You all gather into the kitchen. Aunt Hilda makes tea and Aunt Zelda lights a cigarette as she paces around the room.

“We’ll subject ourselves to be searched for a witches mark.” Sabrina says once everyone is settled.

“Absolutely not, I forbid it!" Aunt Zelda says sternly as she continues to pace.

“Sit down, Zelda, before you collapse. You're skin and bone.” Aunt Hilda sighs, knowing her words have no effect on her sister. You watch Aunt Zelda as she continues to pace, using up what little energy she has.

“Girls, I have to ask. Do either of you even know if you have a mark?” Mr. Webster asks the two of you. You turn your attention away from him when you hear a door squeak. “Let's start there.” He says gently.

“Perhaps there's another way.” Father Blackwood interrupts, everyone turns their attention toward him. “You'll excuse my unannounced visitation, but I come bearing felicitous tidings. I've pleaded on your behalf to the Dark Lord, and he has offered a path through this thicket.”

“Oh, Praise Satan!” Aunt Zelda sighs tiredly as she holds her forehead. 

“Sabrina, the Dark Lord will waive your punishment in the Pit. He will even allow you yearly visitations with your mortal friends, but you must ratify your signature in the Book of the Beast, and you must withdraw from Baxter High, and begin your studies at the Academy of Unseen Arts immediately.”

“What about me?” You ask. “Will I get to stay with my family? With my aunts and my sister?”

“The Dark Lord will allow you to stay with your family. He will also waive your punishment in the Pit but you must also sign the Book of the Beast and begin your studies at the Academy of Unseen Arts.” 

“But this is perfect! Sabrina! Y/N!”

“We'll await your answer tomorrow night in court. Ladies. Sir.” Father Blackwood leaves just as quickly as he appeared. Mr. Webster stands as the door closes. You feel at ease seeing a look of relief on Aunt Zelda’s face for the first time in days.

“We will not take this deal.” He says firmly. 

“But the Dark Lord has been moved by our plight to show mercy. Do you know how rare that is?”

“She's right.” Mr. Webster says. “So, think about that. Why offer a deal? It's a trick. Remember whom you're dealing with!” Aunt Zelda’s face falls, knowing Sabrina isn’t going to take the deal. There’s silence in the room. “It’s getting late. Think this over, I’ll come here tomorrow before court.” Mr. Webster says before excusing himself.

“I’m going to get some rest.” Aunt Hilda says quietly as she stands up. “You should too, Zelds.” She adds as she leaves. Aunt Zelda stares at the two of you. You feel her eyes digging into your skin, looking into your soul. You know she’s doing it to try to get Sabrina uncomfortable, to make her talk. One of them has to talk eventually. Five minutes pass and you just can’t stand the tension anymore.

“That’s enough!” You slam your fist down on the table as you stand up, causing Sabrina and Aunt Zelda to jump. “You’re acting like a child!” You say to Sabrina. “And you aren’t any better!” You yell to Aunt Zelda, your brown eyes burning into her green ones. “This is the worst possible time for you to act all high and mighty and like you’re perfect and better than the rest of us!”

“I will not allow you to speak to me in such a manner, niece.” Aunt Zelda says to you warningly, tilting her chin up.

“Damnit, Zelda! We made a mistake, we made several mistakes,” you correct yourself, “but you made mistakes too. You let our father sign my sister’s name in the Book of the Beast, something that should have been her choice when she was old enough to decide. You kept it hidden from us our whole lives. You’ve made us question everything we’ve ever known in our lives and right when you should at the very least apologize, all you do is stare at us, waiting for us to make the first move. Sometimes you have to be the bigger person. Sometimes you have to make the first move. You’re the adult, sometimes you have to act like it instead of a pompous, holier than thou witch!” You yell. The two of you stare at each other, not breaking eye contact.

“Leave my sight.” She hisses.

“Gladly.” You reply.

“And praise the Dark Lord that I don’t bury you in the Cain Pit like your Aunt Hilda!”

“You don’t have the guts to do it.” You growl. “Just like you don’t have the guts to show any emotions aside from anger and hate.” You storm out of the kitchen. Aunt Hilda grabs your arm as you leave and tugs you into the study. She closes the door behind her so no one can hear the two of you. She slaps you, nowhere near hard enough to hurt, but just enough to stun you. You stare at her in shock. Aunt Hilda never hits people.

“How dare you think you can speak to my sister that way.” She says. “I understand you’re angry and I understand that there’s a lot going on and so much to lose, but that’s no way to speak to your Aunt Zelda.” A small smile forms on your face as you rub your cheek. “This isn’t funny, Y/N!” She says, losing confidence.

“Trust me, I know my sister and I know Aunt Zelda, maybe not as well as you, but I do know her. Outbursts from me are few and far between. Something like this will definitely get them talking or at the very least thinking.” You whisper.

“You’re going to get yourself killed!”

“If that happens, just put me in the Cain Pit.”

“You know there’s no guarantee that you’ll come back out, right? Seeing that you’re half mortal and all.”

“I know, that’s why Aunt Zelda would never put me in it.”

“Oh, darling girl.” Aunt Hilda sighs as she hugs you close to her. “I wish you weren’t so manipulative like Zelda.” She sighs. “I wish you weren’t growing up to be so much like your Aunt Zelda.” She smiles a little.

“Do you wish I was more like Father?” You ask her.

“Oh, you are a lot like Edward.” She laughs. “Zelda and Edward were two peas in a pod. All three of you pace when you’re anxious. And ‘damnit, Zelda’ was how Edward would get Zelda’s attention when he was mad and ‘damnit, Edward’ was how Zelda would get Edward’s attention when she was mad. She sits in a chair. “Did you know that this study was your father’s?”

“No, I just assumed it was everyone’s.”

“Oh, it was, but Edward designed it. He placed everything just the way he wanted it. He hoped his children would enjoy books and knowledge just as much as he did. I bet if he saw you now, he’d be so proud. Especially with how you just handled Sabrina and Zelda.” You can’t help but see the study in a new light. You had spent so many years in this room, unaware that it was a gift from your father. Knowing it was something he treasured and hoped you’d enjoy makes the study feel like a new home. “You should get some rest, darling. It’ll be safer if you’re asleep by the time Sabrina and Zelda finish talking, yelling, or killing each other.” She chuckles. You nod.

“Thank-you, Aunt Hilda.” You reply. You pause. “Aunt Hilda?”

“Yes, love?”  
“What if Sabrina and I don’t take the deal? What if I get taken away?”

“Don’t worry about that, love. Witches live for a very long time. Two hundred mortal years is like two witch years. You’ll hardly know the time has passed.” 

“But that is still a long time to be away from you and Aunt Zelda and Sabrina. I’ve never left Greendale without one of you let alone go somewhere else for two hundred years.”

“I know, darling. We will just have to deal with that issue when it comes. There’s no guarantee you’ll be taken away. And your Aunt Zelda and I have connections in the church, I’m sure we could work something out. But let’s not worry about that until they do  
decide to take you away.”

“Yes, Aunt Hilda.” You reply. “Do you need help getting upstairs?”

“No, love, I can manage.” She says as she slowly gets up from the chair. “But don’t be surprised if Zelda is on the warpath tomorrow.” 

“Yes, Auntie.” You nod before leaving the study.

“I wish you could have known Edward.” You hear Aunt Zelda say. “The two of you are so much like him.” There’s a pause. “Sabrina, I didn’t intend for any of this to happen. Edward was my elder brother, the head of the Spellman household, so what he said went. And he wanted me to witness him signing your name in the book. Even if I didn’t witness it, he would have found someone else to do it. At least in being there, I knew you’d be safe.” You hear her say with a sigh. You slowly walk upstairs to your room and change into your pajamas. You miss your powers. You feel exhausted as you climb into bed but glad that Aunt Zelda is finally speaking to Sabrina. Edward rushes out from under your bed and stands on your pillow. He drops something fuzzy on your forehead. You sit up in fear and surprise as you search in the darkness for the thing Edward brought you. You finally find it and see that it is a pipe cleaner. He screeches to let you know he wants it. You turn the pipe cleaner into a worm and toss it to him. He proudly catches it in his mouth, takes it over to the desk, and begins to eat it. You lean into your pillows and close your eyes, falling into a deep and dreamless sleep.

“Get up.” You hear someone say to you firmly as they rip the blankets off your bed and open the curtains, letting in sunlight. You shiver in the cold and squint in the light to see someone walking about the room, tidying up a bit of Sabrina’s mess. You glance at the clock, its already almost noon. You chastise yourself for sleeping so late, but also remember that you’ve been up until the early hours of the morning because of court. As your eyes adjust, you realize that the person who woke you up is Aunt Zelda.

“Good morning to you, too.” You reply as you stand up and try to spin into new clothes. “Damnit.” You mumble as you once again remember that you don’t have powers. You sit on your bed. Aunt Zelda doesn’t speak to you. “Are you giving me the silent treatment now?” You ask her. She still doesn’t answer. “That’s alright, I will survive with someone not speaking to me. I haven’t spoken to my mother and father in sixteen years, so this won’t bother me.” 

“Fifteen years.” She corrects.

“Excuse me?” You ask.

“It’s been fifteen years since they passed, not sixteen. Not yet.” She replies quietly. She doesn’t say another word as she finishes tidying up. You can tell that it takes a lot of her energy to do so. 

“You’re drunk, aren’t you?” You finally ask. 

“I do not get drunk, Y/N.”

“You do when you have no powers and your spells no longer work.” You say with a small smile. 

“That’s enough Y/N.” She spits. “I am still furious with how you spoke to me last night.”

“Tell me I was wrong, then.” You say, standing up. She opens her mouth to speak. “But don’t just say I was wrong. Look me in the eyes and tell me I was wrong.” You walk over to her and stare at her aged face, the gray is beginning to show in her hair and the wrinkles that were already on her face are much deeper now, and many new ones have formed. Her eyes don’t look as powerful, they look tired and they appear to be harboring more pain than usual. You wonder how she’s taking the idea of you leaving. She looks into your eyes, like she’s trying to read your thoughts and soul. She sighs.

“You weren’t wrong. But you weren’t correct either.” She makes sure to add. “The way you went about it was improper for a lady, especially the daughter of a high priest.”

“Dad would have done it. When he was mad at you, he’d always say ‘damnit, Zelda’.” You say quietly. Aunt Zelda is taken back, but quickly recovers. She doesn’t speak. “I’m a lot like Father, aren’t I?” You ask her. She sits on Sabrina’s bed. 

“Very much so.” She whispers. You can tell that millions of memories are flooding her mind as she speaks. “Sabrina is so much like Diana, but I suppose that worked out well for us.” She looks deeply into your eyes. “You’re so much like Edward before he met Diana.” She seems to remember that she’s upset with you as her tone becomes stern again. “But that isn’t an excuse to talk to me in such an awful manner. You are my young niece, not my elder brother. Remember that I am the one who raised you. I am the one who educated you. I have made you who you are today. Do not disrespect me in such a manner again.” She says harshly before rising. She quickly walks out of the room. For someone aging so quickly, she seems to be handling it well, or she’s pretending to handle it well at least. You take a quick bath, enjoying the warmth of the water as it chases away the cold from your skin. After changing into a clean outfit, you head downstairs and go straight to the study, feeling closer to your father as you do so.

“Do you know of any way out of this?” You ask the picture of your father that hangs over the fireplace. “I supposed I should begin looking through the books. Satan knows I’m not getting any spellcasting in today.” You say with a sigh as you begin to look through the books. You finally settle into a chair with a book when Aunt Hilda pops her head into the room.

“Lunch is ready, darling!” She smiles. You hardly recognize her now. She looks so much older than last night. You put the book down on the chair, leaving it open to the page you were looking at, and follow behind her as she slowly walks into the kitchen. Aunt Zelda is already siting at the table, her cigarette holder on her finger and a newspaper in her hands. Her hair has faded even more now, it’s almost completely gray. You pause at the doorway, shocked at how old Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda are.

“Is something wrong, niece?” Aunt Zelda asks sharply as you stare at them.

“N-no, I just, I mean, you look-”

“Old. We know.” She growls. “Now sit down and eat your lunch.”

“I just never realized how old you guys actually are. I mean you normally don’t look a day over thirty.” You lie. You want to say forty, but in Aunt Zelda’s presence, you decide to go with thirty.

“That’s sweet of you.” Is all Aunt Zelda says before taking a drag of her cigarette. 

“Is it possible for you to die?” You ask after a moment of silence.

“We will all die someday, no one is truly immortal.” Aunt Hilda says with a small laugh.

“No, I mean from this. You don’t have your powers and your powers are what keep you young and you’ve already outlived many mortal lives. Without your powers, you’re mortals. Does this mean that you will die soon?” 

“We are not having this useless discussion again.” Aunt Zelda sighs as she sets down her newspaper dramatically. “We are not going to die. We may be powerless, but we are still witches. And this is only temporary. Once this whole mess is sorted out, our powers will be restored, and everything will be fine. Now, I will not discuss this nonsense any further with you. Everything will be fine if you and Sabrina take the Dark Lord’s offer.” 

“You know Sabrina won’t.” You reply. There’s silence.

“Eat your lunch, we will discuss this later when Sabrina gets home.” She replies after a moment. You quickly eat the lunch Aunt Hilda made and return to the study. 

“What would you do if you were in our position?” You ask the portrait of your father when you enter the study. “Would you have even done something as stupid as Sabrina and I did?” You pick the book back up and sit in the chair, hoping to find something to help. But you can’t focus on the book. “I know Sabrina will chose to be examined for a mark.” You say, looking at the picture. “If she does, I will too. I know I’ll lose my dignity and maybe my confidence and pride, but you can’t lose what you don’t have, right?” You force a laugh. “Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda have given everything to take care of us, and we aren’t very good at repaying the favor. But if doing this can help them get their powers back, I’ll do it. Besides, the Dark Lord didn’t add restoring Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda’s powers to either of our deals. I would have taken any deal just for that.” You finally decide. You feel nervous at the idea of the church seeing the two of you naked, and you worry that they will find a witch’s mark on you. You go back to looking in the book for answers. You find nothing that can help and continue to search through the many other books in the library until you are interrupted hours later.

“Come to the kitchen.” Sabrina says as she opens the study door.

“Is supper ready?”

“Aunt Hilda is in no shape to cook.”

“Good, I’m not hungry and I don’t really want another uncomfortable family meal.” You reply, setting the book you had been looking trough on a stack of books you had already looked though. You follow her into the kitchen were Aunt Hilda, Aunt Zelda, and Mr. Webster are gathered around the table and Ambrose is once again sitting on the counter.

“Aunties, Mr. Webster, I've made my decision.” Sabrina says as she two of you enter the kitchen. “I'm not taking the deal. I'll submit to Blackwood's exam. I don't have a witch's mark and since Y/N and I are identical, she shouldn’t have one either, so there's nothing to lose.”

“Except your dignity.” Aunt Zelda scoffs, her hair now white as snow. Even her voice sounds older.

“Aunt Zelda.” Sabrina says as though she’s about to argue with the older witch again.

“Back into the fray, then, eh, cousin?” Ambrose interrupts with a small smile.

“When they find out we don't have a marks, Mr. Webster, what happens then?” Sabrina asks. 

“We demand a retrial,” he says as he stands up, “in human court, where you're innocent until proven guilty.”

“And we demand that our aunties' powers and youth are restored.”

“It's non-negotiable.” You say at the same time. Sabrina looks at Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda when she says it, but you stare directly into Mr. Webster’s eyes, letting him know that you will not back down from this.

"Thank you for that, sweethearts,” Aunt Zelda says, her tone changing from argumentative to grateful, “but to be stripped and pawed.”

“I've had worse done to me. Besides, there are a lot of people facing their fears right now, fighting battles they know they're not goanna win. So, if this is mine, well, then let's get it over with. But no tricks, no plea bargains.” Mr. Webster nods, somewhat taken back by Sabrina’s words.

“And what about your sister? She would have to do it too!” Aunt Zelda says protectively as a last-ditch effort, her green eyes looking at you. A silence falls on the room as though no one had considered your opinion on it.

“I’ll do it.” You say with strength and determination.

“You what?” Aunt Zelda asks, eyes wide. Everyone turns their attention toward you in surprise.

“Being taken away from you is the second worst thing that can happen to me. You told me that you wouldn’t let anyone take me away from you, not even the Dark Lord. If you can do that for me, this is the least I can do for you.” Aunt Zelda stares at you in shock and disbelief.

“We should go. We'll be outside.” Sabrina says with a quick smile as she tugs you out of the kitchen before Aunt Zelda can retaliate. “Are you sure you want to go through with this?” She asks when the two of you walk outside. You stare into the darkness.

“Yes, I’m sure.” You say. You look at her. “Besides, if we do this, we’ll be doing it together.” Sabrina squeezes your hand.

“Are you really sure?” She asks.

“I don’t see another option. I’m facing my two largest fears: the demise of our aunts or being taken away from my family and home.” A tear falls down your face. 

“You’re shaking.”

“I’m scared. This isn’t something I can talk my way out of or use magic to save me.” Sabrina lets go of your hand as you wipe the tear away and force back the many more that want to fall. “Hold my hand, sister.” You say quietly. “Our time to do so may be winding down.” Sabrina holds onto your hand tightly.

“Let’s go.” Aunt Zelda says as she and Mr. Webster walk out of the house.

“Where’s Aunt Hilda?”

“She’ll catch up.” Aunt Zelda says as she walks away, trying to stand like she’s not exhausted. You and Sabrina follow beside her. Sabrina is still holding your hand. You’re tempted to also hold Aunt Zelda’s hand, but decide against it. The four of you walk into the church and wait on Aunt Hilda. 

“Is Hilda not coming?” Father Blackwood asks.

“Am I my sister’s keeper?” Aunt Zelda asks bluntly. 

“No, Sister Zelda.” 

“She’ll be here shortly. Just start the trial.”

“As you wish.” Father Blackwood says. “Girls, am I to understand that you come now before this court to endure the test of the witch's mark, as described and demanded by your mortal laws?”

“Yes, Father Blackwood.” You say at the same time.

“We request the examination be held in closed chambers.” Mr. Webster says.

“Denied.”

“Stop.” Aunt Hilda yells, interrupting the court. “Stop! Stop!”

“If this is some feeble attempt to delay the agreed-upon course of action-” Father Blackwood sighs as Aunt Hilda whispers to Mr. Webster.

“You're sure?” Mr. Webster asks. “Your Dishonors, I call Hildegard Antoinette Spellman to the stand!”

“This is unacceptable! The test is about to begin!” Father Blackwood says.

“I demand that Hilda Spellman, approach us.” The Infernal Three say. Aunt Hilda slowly makes her way up to the stage.

“I have new evidence to submit to the court.” Mr. Webster says as he joins her. “Ms. Spellman, please read the name printed here on this document.”

“Yes. It reads, um, ‘Sabrina Spellman.” She reads

“Witnessed by?” Mr. Webster encourages.

“Witnessed by her mother, Diana Spellman and, well, me, Hilda Spellman.”

“I offer in evidence a baptismal certificate from the Holy Mother Church of Greendale.” Mr. Webster says as he yanks the paper off the stand. The crowd erupts into murmurs. “What about her sister? Does she also have a baptismal certificate?” You look at Aunt Hilda. She avoids your gaze.

“No, she does not. She was a rather ill baby and Zelda wouldn’t let her out of her sight long enough to be baptized.” She says, almost in shame. Mr. Webster pauses for a moment, unsure what to do.

“Your Dishonors,” Father Blackwood says, “if this certificate is authentic it would seem we have competing claims upon the soul of Sabrina Spellman. 

“No, sir, what we have is a binding contract, witnessed by her mother notarized and dated one day before Edward Spellman inscribed his daughter's name in the Book of the Beast thereby rendering the aforementioned inscription the agreed-upon promise, null and void, QED!” Mr. Webster slams the certificate on the table in front of Father Blackwood.

“These last-minute theatrics make a mockery of this court! This is spurious, this is outrageous!” Father Blackwood yells. 

“No, I'll tell you what's outrageous, Father Blackwood. The Dark Lord's behavior!” Sabina yells. The crowd murmurs again. Suddenly, a door on the floor by the Infernal Three opens, flames pouring out of it.

“Well, now. I'd say you just forced the Devil to the bargaining table. And I've been summoned to the court's private chambers.” Mr. Webster says. 

“While the elder sister seems to have a previous claim to her soul, the younger sister does not. She will be subject to the test of the witch’s mark.” Father Blackwood says as she flames around the door begin to die down. Your breath catches in your throat as the crowd applauds. The confidence you had is now gone. “Come up here, child.” You slowly stand and walk up to a creature, hands shaking as Mr. Webster and Father Blackwood walk up to the door. They begin to descend to the private chambers. There is silence as the door closes behind them.

“Strip down.” The creature says gruffly. You look straight ahead, making sure not to make eye contact with anyone. You try to turn off your emotions and feelings as you kick off your shoes and tug off your socks. You pull your shirt over your head and slip out of your jeans. You unclip your bra and step out of your underwear. You hold back tears as the strangers and your family stare at your naked body. You feel alone on that stage. You wish Sabrina is up there with you, but at the same time you’re glad she’s not. You feel the creature running his claws up and down your body, searching for a witch’s mark. You force your body to stand motionless. He searches for what feels like hours before Father Blackwood and Mr. Webster reappear through the door.

“That’s enough. We will adjourn for a short break.” Father Blackwood says to the crowd and the creature. He looks you up and down before speaking. “You may put your clothes back on.” He says after he finishes looking at you. You quickly put on your clothes, not bothering with your shoes and socks. You gather them in your arms and hurry off the stage towards your family. You don’t say anything to them. You don’t look at any of them. You’re too ashamed to.

“Are you okay?” Sabrina asks.

“Fine.” You whisper, avoiding the worried stares of your family as you try to force your body not to shake.

“Let’s go outside and get some fresh air.” Aunt Zelda says quietly. You all head outside, but she pauses when you grab her hand. She rips her hand out of yours. Your eyes go wide, and you feel tears start to form as you think she’s so embarrassed and ashamed that doesn’t want to touch you. Instead, she pulls you close to her, letting you bury your face in her shoulder, shielding you from everyone who saw your exposed flesh. When you all get outside, Aunt Zelda holds you close to her, almost as though she were protecting you from everyone and everything. “How could you, Hilda?” She asks Aunt Hilda.

“How's it any different to your secret with Edward?” Aunt Hilda defends herself.

“It's completely different! And appalling! A Christian church? Have you no shame? Have you no pride?”

“So, Dad didn't know that Mom had me baptized? In secret? Why?” Sabrina asks.

“She said not to tell him. I just assumed it was Diana being sentimental. Perhaps she suspected what Edward had planned.” Aunt Hilda shrugs.

“So, they were both deceivers.”

“Sabrina! Honor Thy Father and Mother!” Aunt Zelda scolds.

“No more secrets, Aunties. Do you understand? No more lying to me about my own family ever again.” Sabina says. There’s a moment of silence as you feel your family’s eyes on you.

“Are you alright, love?” Aunt Hilda asks.

“Yes, Auntie.” You whisper, pushing yourself closer to Aunt Zelda.

“I knew this was a bad idea.” Aunt Zelda mumbles. Before anyone can say anything, the church bell summons you all back in court. Aunt Zelda hides your face again and leads you to you seat before sitting behind you. “Put your shoes back on, I don’t want you getting a splinter from this floor.” She whispers into your ear. You obey, struggling to tie your shoelaces with your shaking hands.

“Due to conflicts of contract, baptism, and breeding, the Hellbound Court of Greendale decrees that Sabrina Spellman shall retain her mortal life on the condition that she also attend the Academy of Unseen Arts as well as weekly Black Mass.” Sabrina looks at Mr. Webster for explanation.

“Think of it as dual-citizenship.” He whispers.

“Your Dishonors I accept.” Sabrina says.

“So be it. The Court also declares that Y/N Spellman shall remain with her aunts and twin sister in the Spellman home on the condition that she attends mortal school to watch over her sister and also attends the Academy of Unseen Arts.”

“I accept your Dishonors.” You say blankly. Your emotions have exhausted you. You feel embarrassed and ashamed and angry, but you also feel so relieved that you won’t be taken away. But your exhaustion makes you feel numb on top of it all.

“This court is adjourned to the shadows. Full powers are restored to the Spellman family.” 

“Praise Satan! I'm young again!” Aunt Zelda says as she jumps up. You feel a bit more relieved knowing Aunt Zelda and Hilda will be okay. You turn around and Look Aunt Zelda in the eyes. You see both joy and worry in them. No one says anything as you all walk out of the courtroom for the last time.

“Mr. Webster? Won't you come over to our house to celebrate?” Sabrina asks him when you exit the church.

“It's late and I'm old. Another time.” He says, somewhat happy.

“Well, thank you. For helping us win.” She says as she hugs him.

“Yes, thank-you.” You say.

“I’m sorry for what you went through.” He says to you.

“Nonsense. I took a risk. Me being up there wasn’t your choice to make and you didn’t influence me to make that choice.” He nods.

“Some advice. Take advantage of this qualified victory. Learn everything you can about your adversary. And fight for what's yours. Nobody's ever beaten the Devil but you two just might.” He says to you before walking off.

“Let’s go home, girls.” Aunt Hilda says. Aunt Zelda drapes an arm around your shoulder but says nothing. The walk home is silent.

“Everyone get to bed. It will be an interesting day tomorrow.” Aunt Zelda says sternly as she lets go of you. You and Sabrina head to your room.

“We won.” You say softly as you spin into your pajamas. 

“We did.” Sabrina smiles. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” You reply as you climb into bed and pretend to fall asleep. You lie in bed for hours, feeling the monster’s claws on your skin. When you close your eyes you’re back in the church, all the eyes on your naked body. You eventually fall asleep, but even in your dreams you can’t escape. You’re back in the court room, the monster is touching parts of your body no one has ever touched before, the eyes of your family and strangers are upon you. You try to tell yourself it’s just a dream because you know it’s just a dream, but a few hours ago it wasn’t a dream, it was reality. You wake up screaming. You sit upright and cover your mouth. You stare at Sabrina, looking to see if you woke her up. She doesn’t stir. You sit in darkness for a moment, hugging your knees to your chest. You wrap your favorite blanket around you, covering your head like a hood. A sob escapes your throat as you shiver, still feeling your skin being touched. Your bedroom door suddenly flies open and Aunt Zelda walks in, looking around the room for danger. You can’t tell in the darkness, but it almost looks like she’s terrified. Her attention turns to you and her face softens. Aunt Hilda steps into the room beside her.

“Y/N?” Aunt Zelda whispers to you as she walks to the foot of your bed. You look at her with wide eyes. 

“Oh, darling,” Aunt Hilda sighs, “come downstairs with me.” You quietly get out of bed, taking your blanket with you, and follow Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda downstairs and into the kitchen. You sit at the table as Aunt Hilda prepares some tea. 

“I’m sorry I woke you up.” You say quietly. 

“We were still awake, love.” Aunt Hilda smiles.

“But it’s really late at night.” You say.

“What made you wake up screaming?” Aunt Zelda asks, getting right to the point. 

“I dreamt that we were back in the church and I was being examined…” You trail off.

“I knew you shouldn’t have gone through with that nonsense!” Aunt Zelda says. “I knew it was a bad idea!”

“Oh, Zelda, none of that helps us right now.” Aunt Hilda sighs. She hands a cup of tea to Aunt Zelda, gets one for herself, and sets one in front of you. She adds a few drops of foxglove to her cup and not quite a full drop to yours. “This will help us sleep.” She smiles.

“I knew you’d regret being pawed.” Aunt Zelda says to you sternly.

“I don’t regret it.” You say, matching her tone. “I don’t regret doing it, and I’d, I’d do it again.”

“Why?” She asks, giving you the look she gives Sabrina when she does or says something stupid.

“When I was up there, I was doing it because I thought it could help save you guys or at the very least stay with you. The actual act of being examined was horrible. But knowing that I was doing it for my family made it tolerable.”

“You woke up screaming. How tolerable can that be?” She asks. “I’d rather we die with dignity than have you torment yourself for our sake.” She says before standing up from the table. “I’m going bed. I suggest you get some rest too, you start mortal school in the morning.” She says before leaving.

“Oh, don’t mind her, lamb.” Aunt Hilda says, holding your hand. “She’s just in a mood because she also had a nightmare.” 

“What was it about?”

“Don’t let her know I told you this, but she talks in her sleep. From what I heard, she dreamt about something happening to you and Sabrina.” 

“We’ve really upset her, haven’t we?” You ask, taking a sip of your tea.

“You didn’t do anything on purpose. And Zelda is a lot softer than she makes herself out to be. You know that.” She smiles.

“How does it feel to be young again?” You ask, changing the subject.

“It feels wonderful. I even got my tooth back!” She grins, showing off her tooth. “Finish up that tea. It’ll help you sleep. You’ve got a big day ahead of you. Your first day of mortal school! Are you excited?”

“No, I’m terrified.” You reply, avoiding her gaze. “I don’t want to go, Aunt Hilda. They’re mortals and I’ve never been away from you and Aunt Zelda for so long before.” 

“School is only seven hours long, we’ve left you home alone longer than that.”

“But this isn’t home. This a mortal school, full of mortals. It’s a new place with new people and I don’t want to go.

“Darling, it will be okay. Your Aunt Zelda and I may not be able to be there with you, but you’ll have Sabrina. And maybe you’ll make some friends. I’ve wanted you to go to school since you were small, but Zelda wouldn’t let me-”

“The twins needed to have their own spaces. They’re identical, not the same person. Sabrina has a love of mortals, so she thrived in the mortal school. Y/N didn’t share that love so there was no sense in tossing her in that pit with those monsters. Not to mention how easily she would fall ill as a child.” Aunt Zelda interrupts as she walks back into the kitchen. She grabs her crystal bottle of alcohol, a crystal cup, and leaves once again. Aunt Hilda sighs and rolls her eyes when Aunt Zelda is out of sight. You yawn, feeling the foxglove take its effect.

“Get some rest, darling.” Aunt Hilda says. “We will talk about this a bit more tomorrow.” You nod as you stand up. You leave the kitchen, passing the parlor as you do so. You see Aunt Zelda sitting in a chair, facing away from you. She sets her glass down on a table next to her. You quietly walk to the chair and stand behind it. Aunt Zelda is too focused on her cigarette to notice you. You gently touch her shoulder, she jumps in surprise. You let your hand slide off her as you walk past her and sit in front of her, staring into her green eyes. You can tell that she is just as anxious about you going to school as you are.

“We’ve never been apart like this before. When out of the house for long periods of time, I’ve always been with you or Aunt Hilda. Any other time I’ve been at the house where you keep an eye on me through spells.”

“You know about the spells?” She asks, impressed.

“Of course, I do.” You smile. I’ve known about them for years. You aren’t the type of person to hide their protectiveness.” She smiles a bit as she leans back in her chair, feeling proud. “But you can’t protect me at Sabrina’s school, can you?” Her smile fades. “You can’t watch over me like you do here. Are you going to be okay with that?” You ask her.

“Honestly,” she scoffs, “you’re old enough to take care of yourself.” She reaches for her glass. You smile to yourself. 

“I don’t like it any more than you do. But we don’t have a choice anymore. However, I want you to know that I will be okay.”

“It is not my nerves that need to be put at ease, niece. It is your own.” She says simply.

“I know.” You reply. The more Aunt Zelda drinks, the more closed off she becomes. “I’m going to get some rest.” You say as you stand up. “Goodnight, Auntie.” You hug her tightly before going up to your room and crawling back into bed. Within minutes the foxgloves puts you to sleep. In your dreams, you are back in the courtroom with no clothes on. The monster once again begins his examination. This time, he finds a mark on your hand.

“Y/N Spellman has a witches mark!” The monster calls out.

“She is a witch!” Father Blackwood yells to the coven. “Her punishment shall be watching her aunts, Hilda and Zelda, decay.” He says with a wicked grin.

“It’s time for your first day of school.” Sabrina says, shaking you awake. You open your eyes and look around the room, it’s still dark outside, but the sun is beginning to show signs of emerging on the horizon.

“I’m too sick to go.” You say, faking a cough. 

“It will be fun, and boring.” Sabrina smiles. “Think of it as a new adventure.”

“It’s not an adventure. It’s a punishment.” You reply, slowly getting out of bed. You spin into a new outfit and head downstairs.

“Good morning, lamb.” Aunt Hilda says with a smile as you walk past her.

“Morning.” You reply as you sit at your usual spot at the table. Aunt Zelda walks into the kitchen with a box in her arms.

“I have something for you.” She says as she places the box in front of you. “I think it will put both our minds at ease.” You take the lid off the box and pull a red coat out of it.

“It’s a coat like Sabrina’s.” You say, confused. “I thought you hated us dressing alike.”

“It’s bright red. The only other person in Greendale with a coat that color is Sabrina so if something happens, we will be able to find you easier. Plus, I put some charms on that coat that should help keep you safe.” She says somewhat proudly. “Go on, try it on.” You stand up and pull the coat on, buttoning it up. “I also put a hood on it for when it rains. It will also help you tell the difference between your coat and Sabrina’s.”

“Thank you, Aunt Z.” You smile to her. “I love it!” You say as you hug her. 

“I also got you something, darling.” Aunt Hilda says. “I got you a bag with pencils and pens and paper and notebooks for school. I’ve already talked to the principal and you’re in all the same classes as Sabrina for right now. Once you get used to school, maybe after the fall semester is over or when the next school year starts, you can have classes on your own.” 

“Thank-you, Aunt Hilda.” You say to her.

“Is that my coat?” Sabrina asks as she walks into the kitchen. She sets her bag on the floor next to her.

“No, Aunt Zelda just gave it to me.” You reply. “It has a hood.” You pull the hood over your head.

“Now you can be Little Red Riding Hood.” She smiles.

“Sabrina, be nice to your sister.” Aunt Zelda scolds her. “She’s had a hard-enough time after being displayed in front of the whole coven.”

“I think you look rather adorable, cousin.” Ambrose says from his place perched on the counter. “It looks like you’re about to go out into the garden with Aunt Zelda again. She used to dress you in bright colors when you were young because she was always afraid of losing you.”

“That is not true, Ambrose.” Aunt Zelda glares at him. “I was hoping she’d get the bright colors dirty so I could dispose of them. Hilda never bought proper clothes for the girls.”

“Zelda, they don’t make black clothes for baby girls or little toddlers.” Aunt Hilda sighs as she sets breakfast on the table. “Besides, you picked out those clothes.” She mumbles quietly, just loud enough for you to hear, but quiet enough that Aunt Zelda doesn’t hear, or she pretends not to. You pull the hood off your head and eat some toast.

“Are we walking to school?” You ask Sabrina. 

“No, Harvey is driving us.” She replies as she takes a bite of an apple.

“I’ve packed you a lunch, so you won’t have to eat in the cafeteria.” Aunt Hilda says, placing a metal lunchbox on the table to next to you. You nod in reply, looking at the chipped metal paint, feeling more and more nervous as the minutes tick by.

“If you feel ill, call us and I will come and get you.” Aunt Zelda says. 

“Yes, Auntie.” You reply, setting down the toast you had only taken two bites out of. You hear Harvey’s truck pull into the driveway followed by the sound of a car horn.

“That’s Harvey.” Sabrina smiles to you as she stands up. You nod as you also stand. The two of you grab your bags. As you walk out the door, Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda follow you, stopping you at the porch.

“You know the number, right?” Aunt Zelda asks.

“Of course, I do.” You say.

“Remember, these are weak mortals. If any one of them lays a hand on you or so much as looks at you the wrong way, give me their name and I’ll make sure they suffer a fate worse than death.” Aunt Zelda whispers venomously in your ear.

“They’re harmless.” Sabrina says as she rolls her eyes. You look at Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda once more before you follow her off the porch and to Harvey’s truck. Sabrina climbs into the truck, sitting in between you and Harvey. You look back at the house one last time before climbing into the truck. You give a nervous wave to Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda. Aunt Hilda waves back, Aunt Zelda retreats to the house. You climb into the truck.

“Aunt Zelda is going to be on a rampage.” You say to Sabrina.

“Oh yeah. Poor Aunt Hilda.” She says with a forced smile. “Y/N is going to school now.” She says to Harvey when you close the door.

“Your aunt finally agree to let her out of her sight for that long?” He smiles as he begins to back out of the driveway.

“I chose to stay home.” You say proudly, looking out your window instead of at them, blinking back tears of anxiety. “I was perfectly fine teaching myself at home.”

“You taught yourself?” He asks in surprise.

“Of course. Did you think I was locked up in a tower, forbidden to leave the grounds?” You ask.

“I don’t know, I mean Sabrina leaves all the time and goes to school, but no one ever sees you around. I don’t think a lot of people know you’re twins.”

“That’s because I have better things to do. I help our aunts with the mortuary and help them care for the grounds and study our family history.” There’s a pause in the conversation as the atmosphere grows uncomfortable.

“So, you’ve never been to school?” Harvey asks you.

“No, never.” You reply. “This is my first time away from home for so long without one of our aunts.” You grip your coat protectively. “It sounds sad, being that I’m sixteen years old, but our Aunt Zelda is very protective, I assume it’s because our father, her elder brother, died and we are the only things of his she has left to hold onto.”

“That’s really deep.” Harvey says slowly.

“I suppose.” You reply, unsure of what to say.

“You should join W.I.C.C.A!” Sabrina smiles to you, changing the subject.

“Wicca?” You ask.

“It’s a club my friends and I have created. It’s a safe place for the women of Baxter High.” 

“It doesn’t sound like something I’d be part of.” You reply. “You know me, Sabrina. I’m more into books and studying. Just show me the library and I’ll be fine.” Sabrina rolls her eyes playfully. 

“At least give it a try.” She encourages you. You finally look at her just long enough to roll your eyes before turning back to the window. Sabrina and Harvey begin to talk about school and how much they love each other. You tune then out and wonder what awaits you at school. When Harvey pulls into the school’s parking lot you hesitate to leave the safety of the truck, but reluctantly get out.

“We need to find Roz.” Sabrina says to you. “Who is Roz?” You ask. You had heard the name before, but never really cared enough.

“Roz is my friend. You’ll like her.” She says to you. “I’ll see you later, Harvey.” She smiles to her boyfriend as she kisses him. 

“Sabrina, I’m not here to make friends. This is my punishment.” You remind her once Harvey is out of earshot. You follow her into the school and through the crowded calls. You reach out to grab her hand in feat that you’ll lose track of her in the crowd but change your mind. You’re perfectly capable of caring for yourself if you do become separated. Sabrina leads you into a few classrooms, casually explaining what classes they held before taking you to the bathroom. A girl about your age is looking at herself in one of the mirrors.

“There you are! We've been looking all over for you!” Sabrina says to the girl. She looks at Sabrina and then you. She gives you both a confused look as you stare back at her with interest.

“Roz, this is my sister, Y/N.”

“I knew you had a sister, but I didn’t know she was a twin!” Roz says as she gets close to your face. You take a step back, grabbing Sabrina’s arm in discomfort. “Sorry,” Ros chuckles as she puts her glasses back on. 

“Come on, we’ve got something to show you!” Sabrina says excitedly as she rushes out of the bathroom. You quickly follow behind her, not wanting to be left alone with the mortals. Sabrina stops in front of double doors labeled ‘library’. “You’ll like this room, Y/N.” She smiles to you as she and Roz push the doors open. A group of people are circled around a table. They all turn around to look at the three of you, revealing a box of books on the table.

“What is this?” Ros asks with a small chuckle. “What’s going on?”

“Sabrina. Rosalind. Welcome to Baxter High's new, secret book club.” An older woman wearing dark clothes and red lipstick says smoothly. “Sponsored by W-I-C-C-A. Banned titles only.”

“With you leading the group of course.” Sabrina smiles to Roz. There’s an awkward silence as everyone stares at you and Sabrina waiting for an explanation. Sabrina doesn’t notice, she’s watching Roz, who fell silent. A smile breaks out on her face and she gives Sabrina a hug.

“I’m so proud of you girls.” The woman says. “We’re goanna have such great fun reading all those juicy, forbidden novels that they don’t want us to.” She smiles. The small girls standing next to her lets out a laugh. “I’ve got quite a list. A little something for each of you.” She says slowly. Roz chuckles as Sabrina wraps her in a hug. 

“I see there are two Sabrinas.” The woman says as though she just noticed you. You stare at the woman and she stares back at you. You play with your coat nervously.

“Ms. Wardwell, this is my sister, Y/N. She’ll be going to school here now.”

“I see. Were you studying elsewhere before coming here?”

“I taught myself.” You reply, moving your attention from her to all the books in the large room. 

“Ah!” She exclaims. “You must be rather bright then.”

“Exceptionally.” You reply.

“Wonderful.” She says as she walks around the table toward you. “I’m Miss Wardwell.” She extends her hand toward you. You take it. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” You reply, reciting the proper way to greet mortals that Aunt Zelda had taught you.

“Likewise.” Ms. Wardwell smiles. “You and Sabrina look so much alike, are you twins?”

“Yes, ma’am. We’re identical. Sabrina is a few minutes older than I am.” 

“That’s so cool!” The small girl exclaims. You nod in response, not sure what you should say. “Have you ever been to school before?”

“No, I haven’t. I was homeschooled by our aunts and then once I was able to master almost everything, they were able to teach me, I began studying on my own.” You reply. “Are there any book in Latin here?” You ask Ms. Wardwell, raising your head slightly like Aunt Zelda does. You think that maybe if you carried yourself like Aunt Zelda, you’d also have some of her confidence. “I’ve been studying Latin, it’s quite fascinating.” Sabrina elbows you and gives you a quick warning look.

“No, we don’t. This is a public high school after all.” She picks up a book from the table. “Why don’t you read this, and I will see if I can get you some books in Latin. I may have a few in my classroom from many years ago.”

“Thank-you, ma’am.” You reply, taking the book.

“We’d better get going, we’ll be late for your first class.” Sabrina smiles to you. “We’ll see you in class, Ms. Wardwell.” 

“I look forward to it.” She replies as Sabrina leads you away. 

“You can’t just say things like that!” Sabrina thinks to you as you walk through the crowded hallway. 

“Honestly, they’re mortals, they aren’t that bright.” You roll your eyes, adjusting your bag on your shoulder. You unbutton your coat. 

“Why do you sound more like Aunt Zelda than usual?” She asks, leading you to a classroom. 

“Because I’m scared, and I want to go home, and if I imitate the most confident person I know, then maybe I’ll gain some false confidence.” You say with a pout as you enter the empty classroom.

“It’s just school.” She smiles.

“To you it’s just school. But to me, this is a new place with new people and for the first time I’m not surrounded by our coven. I’m surrounded by mortals.” You whisper. You become quiet as people begin to file into the room. Their chatter creates an excited environment. A man enters the room and they fall quiet at his voice.

“Quiet down, everyone. We have a new student today.” He nods at you. “Would you like to introduce yourself?” You stand up.

“Of course.” You smile charmingly, trying to be like Aunt Zelda. “I’m Y/N Spellman, Sabrina’s younger sister.” The teacher nods at you and you sit down.

“Are you twins?” A boy asks.

“Yes, we are.” You both reply.

“Whose older?” Someone else asks.

“I am.” Sabrina replies.

“Why didn’t you come to school before?” A girl asks you.

“I was homeschooled before, but for the last several years I’ve taught myself and our aunts decided I could learn more at school than at home.”

“She must not be all that smart.” Someone whispers.

“I assure you, I have more knowledge in my frontal lobe then you do in your whole cerebrum.” You reply. 

“That’s enough everyone.” The teacher says. “We will have pop quiz on quadratic equations today. Y/N, you do not have to take it if you wish.”

“I will take it, sir.” You say. “I find quadratic equations to be rather simple.” He nods as he passes out the tests. Everyone was just turning to the second page by the time you completed the whole test. You walk up to the front of the room and hand it to the teacher.

“Well done, Miss Spellman.” He says, highly impressed as he looks over your answers. “You may read or do something quietly while you wait on your peers to finish.” You nod and go back to you seat. You pull a Latin spell book out of your bag. Sabrina’s eyes go wide when she sees it.

“What are you doing?” She thinks to you.

“Relax, it’s charmed. Only you and I can see it as a spell book. To everyone else it looks like that book Ms. Wardwell handed me.” Sabrina rolls her eyes.

“What is the answer to number seven?”

“Figure it out.” You think with a smirk. 

“Rude.” Sabrina replies. 

The rest of the day followed a similar pattern, you introduce yourself, people ask questions, you take a quiz and easily complete it, study your spell book, and move onto the next class. During lunch, you eat the food Aunt Hilda had packed and then you go to find the library. As you walk through the nearly empty halls, a group of boys walks past you.

“Spellman.” One of them snarled. You stop, they are familiar. You turn around to look at them as they continue to walk past. That’s when you realize they are the boys Sabrina and the Weird Sisters had gotten revenge on. 

“Have you come out to your parents yet, boys?” You ask them calmly, leaning against a locker. They stop and face you, anger on their faces.

“What did you just say?” The leader asks threateningly.

“Don’t you remember your little rendezvous in the mines? I sure do.” The leader pushes you against the locker. He holds you in place by your neck. Your breath catches in your throat. His grip is tight enough to keep you still but loose enough that you can still breathe with ease. 

“Don’t you say another word, Spellman or it’ll be your last.” He hisses. You quickly cast a spell and the boy yelps in pain and releases you. 

“What’s wrong? Get shocked by my coat?” You smile. By shocked, you of course meant electrocuted. Each time he tried to touch you, the shock would get worse. He grabs your shoulder but yanks his hand back and stifles a cry of pain. He looks at you, trying to act tough, but you can tell he’s been thrown off guard.

“Leave her alone this instant!” A woman says as she rushes down the hallway. The boys glare at you before glaring at you and walking off. “Are you alright? Did those awful, awful men hurt you?” The woman asks. You look at her and realize it’s Ms. Wardwell.

“I’m fine.” You reply with a slight smile as you adjust the collar on your coat.

“You need to stay away from those horrible men. Where is Sabrina?” She asks you. “Surely she is watching out for you on your first day.” She places a hand on your shoulder, but quickly yanks it away in surprise. “The static in here is awful.” She laughs as she places her hand back on your shoulder, suddenly unaffected by your spell.

“I don’t know, probably with her friends.” You shrug, concerned by the sudden failure of your spell.

“What class do you have next?”

“Whatever class Sabrina has next.” You reply. 

“Come with me then.” She sighs. “You have my class. You can sit in my room.” She leads you to her classroom. “Sabrina sits over there.” She points to a desk near the center of the classroom. “You may sit near her if you like.” 

“Thank you.” You reply as you set your bag down on the desk next to Sabrina’s.

“Sabrina has talked to me about changing schools soon. Will you do the same?” She asks.

“It’s a possibility.” You reply. “I’ve never been to school before so Aunt Hilda thought it would be good for me try out this school before Sabrina and I go to the other school.” You lie.

“I see. Well, you’re certainly making a shocking impression here.” She says as she sits on her desk. You can’t help but smile a bit. “But you need to be careful.” She says seriously. “Women are not safe in this school. Poor Suzie has been mauled by those horrible men who attacked you several times now.” She sighs. “But Sabrina is working hard to give women like her a safe place to be, and now that you’re here, I’m sure the two of you can make W-I-C-C-I-A even stronger.” She smiles.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Wardwell, but I don’t see how that is a problem of mine.” You say bluntly. She’s taken back by your words. “I don’t know these people and I’m quite capable of taking care of myself and my sister if need be. I don’t care about her friends. I don’t care about this school. I only care about my family.” She stares at you for a moment.

“My, my, you’re nothing like Sabrina.” She says slowly, a seductive smile dancing on her lips. “I find that fascinating. I do hope I get to know you better while you’re one of my students.”

“There you are!” Sabrina says somewhat worriedly as she walks into the room. 

“Those boys were bullying her. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn’t rescued her.” Ms. Wardwell says dramatically as she gets off her desk.

“They were bullying you?” Sabrina asks, eyes wide before you can say anything. 

“It’s nothing I can’t handle.” You say, raising your head slightly as you smile, trying to be like Aunt Zelda again.

“You’re a very strong and confident woman, Y/N. I admire that.” Ms. Wardwell says. “I think the two of you are going to be star pupils.” She adds just before other students begin to enter the room. The two of you take your seats. 

“She’s definitely something.” You think to Sabrina when she starts teaching.

“She’s really nice though.” Sabrina thinks back. “What did those boys do to you?”

“It’s fine, I handled it. They won’t be bothering anyone anymore.” You think, a small smile forming on your lips. 

“You didn’t curse them, did you?”

“I shocked them with my personality.” Sabrina rolls her eyes. You make it through the rest of the classes she drags you to and you meet up with her friends and Harvey after the school day is over.

“Do you guys want to go grab a soda?” Harvey asks. “We can celebrate Y/N’s first day of school. I’ll buy.” He smiles, trying to convince everyone to go.

“No, I have homework to do.” Suzie sighs.

“And I have to help my parents with a youth group at the church.” Roz adds.

“Sabrina One and Sabrina Two?” He smiles at the two of you.

“Call us that again and you will be six feet under. Don’t forget our aunts own a graveyard.” You threaten. 

“We should really get Y/N home. I bet Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda want to hear about her day and don’t want me to keep her out all day.” Sabrina says. “But maybe some other time.” She adds. 

“Yes, some other time.” You add with a nod. 

“Okay, and I’ll hold you to it. We’re going to show you the town someday.” He says to you.

“I’ve seen the town. I’ve lived here my whole life.” You reply as the three of you climb in the truck. 

“No, when you’re not with your aunts it’ll be a whole new experience.”

“I like it the way it is.” You say. You feel relief building in you as you are driven back home. Sabrina and Harvey talk amongst themselves while you look out the window, waiting for the house to come into view. You feel excitement when it does and almost jump out of Harvey’s truck before it’s completely stopped. “Thank-you, Harvey.” You say quickly as you climb out of the truck and race to the house. You burst through the door and into the kitchen. Aunt Hilda is sitting at the table canning some vegetables from the garden. “I survived!” You say loudly, startling her. You rush up to her and hug her. “I’ve missed you so much!” She wraps her arms around you.

“Did you have a good day, lamb?”

“I never want to go back there again.” You say with a smile. Aunt Hilda lets go of you and sits at the table with a confused look. “It’s loud and crowded and the people are weird, and the students are dumb. I already know everything they’re teaching.” 

“Then why are you smiling?”

“Because I scared the shit out of some boys that tried to harass me.” 

“What are their names?” Aunt Zelda asks venomously, quickly walking into the room, an aura of danger and uncontrollable rage surrounds her and fills the room. Sabrina walks into the kitchen and pauses, feeling Aunt Zelda’s presence. “What are their names? I will make them suffer. Beg for mercy. They will rue the day they were born!” She booms as she slams her fist on the table. “Hilda, get my spell book. The one bound in mortal flesh. I will destroy this whole town! I will burn it to the ground!” You smile at Aunt Zelda and hug her; her aura dissipates as she warps her arms around you. 

“I’m fine, Auntie Z.” You say as she runs her fingers through your hair. “I scared them more than they scared me.” You laugh a bit. She lets go of you, still holding onto your shoulders.

“You cast a spell on your coat.” She states.

“I did. The mortals couldn’t touch me if they tried.”

“I’m proud of you.” She says in a pleased tone.

“Do you feel better now, Zelds? She’s fine.” Aunt Hilda asks, slightly annoyed. Aunt Zelda gives her a look. 

“If you need me, I will be out in the garden.” She replies simply, looking at you one last time before leaving the kitchen. You look at Aunt Hilda.

“She’s been in a bloody rampage all day.” She says when Aunt Zelda is out of earshot. “Has been since you left the house this morning.” 

“Well, you were right. We did need to come straight home right after school.” You say to Sabrina, who gives you a nervous smile.

“Why is she on a rampage?” Sabrina asks.

“Probably because she’s never let Y/N out of her sight and she’s the favorite.” Ambrose says slyly as he walks into the kitchen.

“That’s not true. We love you all equally. Zelda is just overprotective. She was in just as bad of a mood when Sabrina went to her first day of school.” 

“That’s because Sabrina exposed us all to the common cold.” Ambrose reminds her.

“Did you make any new friends?” Aunt Hilda asks ignoring Ambrose and trying to forget her long day with an extremely angry Zelda.

“No. I don’t like mortals.” You shrug.


	7. Episode 4 Part 1

"No, no, no. The Fly is about body dysmorphia.” Susie says.

“Isn't it about a guy who turns into a giant fly?” Harvey asks. You roll your eyes as you sit next to Harvey, one of the last places you want to be. You glance at Sabrina, who is on the other side of Harvey, and more interested in the conversation than you are.

“Can we go home yet?” You think to her.

“No.” She thinks back. “Try to have some fun.” A smile forms at the corners of your mouth. “Without magic,” Sabrina adds quickly. “The original, yes, but Cronenberg said his remake was a metaphor for STDs.” She says to Harvey.

“Yeah,” Susie says.

“Guys,” Roz interrupts, “what are we doing this weekend?”

“Finally, a change in subject!” You think to Sabrina.

“Well, my dad is going to the Farm Expo for three days, so I'm stuck at home by myself.” Susie

“Ooh! Let's have a girls' night!” Roz says.

“Uh…”

“C'mon, Susie, please? My mom and dad are trying to get me to lead this youth group at their church this weekend. Staying with you would give me the perfect excuse not to do that.” Roz begs.

“I dunno, Roz.”

“'Brina, you in?”

“Actually, I'll be at the expo too this weekend. I'm helping my Aunt Hilda sell her honey.”

“What about you, Y/N?” She asks you.

“I have to stay home. Aunt Zelda will be teaching me how to run the mortuary.

“Wait, you're not gonna be gone the entire expo, are you?” Harvey asks.

“Yeah, I am. But I have a coping strategy. Whenever I'm really missing you, I'll hold you close to my heart.” She smiles as she holds the necklace Harvey had given her.

“Gross.” You say. You notice small smiles form on Roz and Susie’s faces at your comment.

“Call me the second you get back. I'll come right over.” Harvey smiles. He and Sabrina begin to make out.

“Double gross.” You say, not hiding your disgust.

“Uh Relax, Romeo, it's three days,” Roz says. 

“Can we turn this into Romeo and Juliet?” You ask. 

“You know Juliet dies in that, right?” Sabrina thinks to you.

“We have a Cain Pit.” You think back.

“Yeah. I mean, seriously, you guys. Seriously, you guys!” Susie complains. You cast a similar spell to the one you placed on your coat and touch the inside of Harvey’s ear. He jumps and pulls away when you shock him. Roz and Susie burst into laughter.

“What was that?” Harvey asks in surprise.

“Bad dog.” You say simply. “Behave yourself or you will be shocked again.”

“Dude, that really hurt.” He complains as he rubs his ear.

“How badly did you shock him?” Sabrina thinks to you.

“It’s just static electricity.” You think back. “A little static never hurt anyone.” You say to Harvey as you stand. “This has been fun and all, but I think it is time we start heading home, don’t you agree, sister?” Sabrina looks at you.

“Yes, I suppose so.” She says. “Are you okay, Harvey?” She asks the mortal.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He says, glancing at you.

“He will survive. Aunt Zelda’s patience, however, will not.” You remind them. “It was a pleasure seeing the two of you again.” You say politely to Roz and Susie before leaving with Sabrina following behind you.

“What was that about?” She asks you when you’re a block from her friends.

“What was what about?” You smile.

“Why did you electrocute my boyfriend?”

“It’s rude to make out like animals in a public place.” You reply.

“Why are you in such a mood?” 

“I’m not. I want to hurry and get home and prepare for tomorrow. It’s our first day of school, of actual school.”

“We already go to actual school.”

“Proper school, Sabrina. We will be going to a proper school. A school for our kind without these annoying mortals.”

“Oh please,” She laughs, “you totally enjoyed making Roz and Susie laugh when you electrocuted my boyfriend.”

“No, I enjoyed electrocuting your boyfriend. Maybe it revived some dead brain cells.” 

“Have you done the homework for Ms. Wardwell’s class yet?” Sabrina asks, changing the subject.

“Of course. It’s super easy.”

“Can I copy your answers?”

“Of course.”

“Really?”

“No.” You laugh.

“How about we race home? If I win, I can copy your answers. If you win, I can’t copy your answers?” Sabrina grins.

“Deal.” You reply. 

“Ready, set, go!” Sabrina yells. You quickly run into an alleyway as Sabrina bolts towards home. You make sure no mortals are around and you teleport home. You appear on the front porch and sit in a chair next to Aunt Zelda and watch the setting sun.

“Where is your sister?” She asks casually as though her teenage niece appearing out of thin air was a normal occurrence. She doesn’t even bother to look up from her newspaper. 

“Racing.”

“Racing who?”

“Me.”

“She doesn’t know you teleported, does she?”

“Not yet. But She’ll figure it out.” You hear a small chuckle escape Aunt Zelda’s lips. You watch the sun as it fades. Just as the last rays are starting to die, Sabrina rushes onto the porch.

“How…..did you…..get here?” She pants, out of breath.

“You didn’t say I couldn’t teleport.” You reply.

“That’s cheating!” She complains.

“All is fair in mortals and magic.” You smile.

“That makes no sense.” 

“No, but it sounds cool.”

“Okay, girls, come inside for supper.” Aunt Zelda says as she stands up and carefully folds her newspaper.

“How was school, darlings?” Aunt Hilda asks as the three of you enter the kitchen.

“Boring.” You shrug.

“Y/N electrocuted my boyfriend.” Sabrina tattles as she points a finger at you.

“I didn’t electrocute him at school!” You say back. “Besides, it’s not like I killed him.”

“It hurt him though!”

“But did he die?”

“But it hurt him! How about I electrocute you?”

“You’d try to kill me! At least I can control my power, you don’t know how to! You’d try to just shock me and you’d end up turning me into a lightning bolt!” You say loudly.

“Would not!” Sabrina says just as loudly.

“Would too!” You say even louder.

“Would not!” Sabrina says louder than you.

“That’s enough, girls!” Aunt Zelda booms over the two of you. “Y/N, why did you electrocute a mortal?” She sighs.

“Because he was making out with Sabrina.” The attention turns towards Sabrina as she glares at you. “We were in a public place and it was making everyone uncomfortable.”

“Why didn’t you ask them to stop?” Aunt Hilda asks, trying to play devil’s advocate.

“Between them, they have four ears, but none of them work when their mouths are connected, and their spit is exchanged.”

“Gross.” Sabrina mumbles.

“Trust me, we all think it’s gross.” You reply.

“Sabrina, I’ve told you that it is unladylike to make out with mortals in public places.” Aunt Zelda scolds Sabrina.

“And we’ve both told you not to hurt mortals with magic.” Aunt Hilda scolds you.

“I’m sorry, Auntie.” You and Sabrina say at the same time.

“Supper will be ready soon. Why don’t the two of you start packing your bags for tomorrow?” Aunt Hilda suggests. 

“Yes, Aunt Hilda.” You say.

“And no more arguing.”

“And don’t electrocute anyone.” Aunt Zelda says. “I mean it.” She says looking more at Sabrina than you. The two of you head upstairs. 

“Aren’t you excited to start this new school?” You ask Sabrina. “We’ll be with our own kind. We won’t have to keep who we are a secret! We can cast spells as we please!” You grin. 

“No,” Sabrina says simply as she pulls a bag from under her bed and starts putting things in it. You do the same.

“Aren't you even a little excited?” Ambrose asks from the doorway. He walks into the room and sits on the couch by Sabrina’s bed. 

“I'm stressed, Ambrose. Starting a new school is stressful. Not to mention I'm lying to Harvey and Roz and Susie. And I don't see why I have to be at the academy for three whole nights.”

“I’m excited.” You smile.

“It's your induction.” He stands up as he speaks. “Cousins, you are on the precipice of a stupendous new adventure at the Academy of Unseen Arts. You will meet interesting witches and warlocks from all over the world. Some of them, a great many of them, will be hot.” He smirks.

“Ambrose, I'm not going to the academy to hook up with hot warlocks. I am going to the academy to learn how to defeat the Dark Lord. I'm going to learn how to conjure him, bind him, banish him. That's my only agenda.”

“That’s a really bad idea!” You say to her.

“It’s what I’m going to do. And if the time comes, I want you to help me.” She says to you.

“Sabrina, I can’t go against the Dark Lord. Look at what he has done for us, for our family.”

“He tried to take you away from us. That was his punishment for a crime you weren’t even guilty of. How could you not want to get revenge on him for that?” 

“Do you want to get revenge on Father or Aunt Zelda for signing your name in the Book of the Beast?” You ask her, staring into her eyes. 

“This is different.”

“Only the circumstances and the people are different.” You say. “Sabrina, our family has worshiped and followed the Dark Lord for generations. I don’t know if I can go against him at the drop of a hat like this.” 

“So that’s how it is? We’re going to be fighting the same war but on different sides?”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” You say as you toss more stuff into your bag.

“Cousin, you’re asking a lot of your little sister,” Ambrose adds. “Especially so sudden.” Sabrina glares at him. Edward emerges from under your bed as squawks at her before retreating. You snap your fingers and some of your clothes begin to float into your bag. Sabrina rolls her eyes as she slowly packs her things. 

“Supper is ready, darlings.” Aunt Hilda says. 

“I’m not hungry,” Sabrina replies.

“Come on, Sabrina.” You roll your eyes. “It’s the last supper we get to have with our family for three whole days!” 

“Are you okay, lamb?”

I’m just stressed out, that’s all.” Sabrina replies. “I’ll be fine.”

“She’s scared.” You smirk.

“Said the one who was scared out of her mind when she started Baxter High.” Sabrina defends herself. You roll your eyes.

“Stop arguing you two.” Aunt Hilda sighs. “We’ll be downstairs if you need us. Come along, Ambrose.” Aunt Hilda says as she leads you downstairs. You sit at the table next to Aunt Zelda, who is reading another newspaper. She is silent. You cast a spell to shock her with the touch of your finger like you did Harvey, but less painful. When you are centimeters from touching her arm, she speaks.

“Niece, if you zap me it will be the last spell you cast.” She says warningly.

“Yes, ma’am.” You reply, lowering your arm. Aunt Zelda reaches out to touch your hand, sending a shock as she does so. You jump and pull your hand away. You see a satisfied smirk on her face as she folds up the paper. 

“Where is Sabrina?” She asks.

“She’s decided not to join us for supper,” Ambrose says as he sits on the counter. 

“She’s nervous about our first day at the academy.” You say as Aunt Hilda sets a plate in front of you.

“Are you nervous?” Aunt Hilda asks.

“I’m more nervous for your safety than anything.” You say to her. “Aunt Zelda was on a rampage when I went to my first day of school, I can only imagine how she’ll react when I’m gone for three whole days.” Aunt Zelda glares at you.

“I do not go on rampages.” She says proudly as she tilts her head up. “Hilda’s existence merely irritated me more than usual.” 

“Only when I was gone?” You smile as Aunt Hilda puts a plate in front of Aunt Zelda and herself.

“That’s enough. Eat your supper and finish packing. Tomorrow will be long and exciting.” 

“Do you think I’ll be all right there?” You ask after a moment. “I mean I can do very well in the mortal school because I have magic to protect me and they don’t. But at the academy, everyone has powers and I’m going to be a lot weaker than everyone because I’m half mortal. I’m going to go from a big fish in a little pond to a little fish and a big pond.” 

“You will be just fine, Y/N.” Aunt Zelda says. “You are a Spellman.”

“And if anything goes wrong, just call us and we’ll take care of it.” Aunt Hilda adds.

“I will take care of it.” Aunt Zelda corrects. “You aren’t allowed within spitting distance of the academy or the Church of Night. You’ve been excommunicated, remember?”

“Of course, I remember.” Aunt Hilda sighs. A tense silence falls upon the room.

“I’m excited to start the academy, but I’m also nervous. I mean it isn’t like school where I’m only gone for a few hours. I’m going to be gone for three whole days. And the Weird Sisters will be there.”

“You can always bite them again,” Ambrose smirks.

“Ambrose, I’m serious. What if they come after Sabrina and me again? I’m not strong enough to fight them off.”

“You won’t be bulled. It’s just like mortal school, only better. You will learn wonderful and amazing things, things you could only dream of learning. Just relax and prepare to have the time of your life.” Aunt Zelda smiles, thinking of her time at the academy.

“And praise Satan that you don’t have an older sister who will harrow you.” Aunt Hilda says quietly, looking at Aunt Zelda. You quickly eat your supper and go upstairs to finish packing. You walk into your room to see Sabrina pretending to be asleep.

“What if the Weird Sisters try to bully us?” You ask her. She doesn’t answer. “I know you’re not sleeping.” You say with a sigh as you spin into your pajamas. Your clothes begin to float into your bag again as you walk around the room, looking for smaller items that you may want to take with you. “Are you still mad about Harvey? He’s just a mortal.”

“I love him, Y/N. And I want to be with him.” She snaps. 

“That’s not an option right now. I want to be the strongest witch of our generation, but that’s not an option right now either.”

“You don’t get it, you don’t love anyone.” 

“I love Edward and Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda.” You say. “I also love my twin sister.” You smile. “Even when she does or says stupid things or argues with me until we drive Aunt Zelda insane.” 

“Shut up.” She says, trying to hide her smile as you close your bag. 

“Remind me to get a book from the study before we leave tomorrow.” You say to Sabrina.

“Why don’t you go and get it right now?”

“Because that requires effort.” You reply as you take the bag off our bed, turn off the light, and climb under the covers. “Do you think we’ll be in the same room or do you think they’ll separate us?”

“They’ll probably put us together with the other girls our age.” 

“How old are the Weird Sisters?” You ask. Sabrina laughs.

“Doesn’t matter, nothing we can do to change anything.” You roll your eyes. You fall into a dreamless sleep, both excited and nervous about tomorrow.

“It’s time to get up, darlings!” Aunt Hilda says to the two of you the next morning. “It’s your first day at the academy! So exciting!” She sings as she walks about the room, picking up your bag and Sabrina’s bag as she does so and taking them with her. “I’ve made pancakes!” 

“Someday she will make cinnamon rolls.” You mumble as you sit up, disturbing Edward, who had fallen asleep on your pillow sometime during the night. 

“Maybe for your birthday,” Sabrina smirks.

“We got goop in jars for our birthday breakfast.” You cringe at the reminder of the awful taste. 

“Come on, darlings! You don’t want to be late!” Aunt Hilda calls. You get out of bed and spin into a new outfit. Edward jumps onto your head and you make your way downstairs with Sabrina not far behind you.

“Morning Aunt Zelda.” You smile to your aunt, who is once again smoking a cigarette and reading the newspaper. 

“Good morning, niece.” She says simply, not looking up from her paper.

“Aunt Z, who is talking to you right now?” You ask her as you quickly duck behind the counter and Sabrina stands in your place.

“I’m taking to Y/N, of course.” She says, not looking up from her paper.

“Are you sure, Aunt Zelda?” Sabrina asks.

“Yes, I’m sure. Honestly, like I don’t know what my own niece sounds like.” She stops when she looks up from her paper to see Sabrina. She stares at Sabrina for a moment before taking a drag of her cigarette and returning to her paper with an exasperated sigh.

“Good morning, Aunt Zelda.” You say, standing next to Sabrina.

“Good morning, niece.” Aunt Zelda says, this time looking up from her newspaper. “I don’t like you going to that mortal school. The mortals have made you unladylike.” She says flatly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You ask as you sit next to her.

“You play jokes, you argue with your sister, and you’ve become more like a….a…”

“A teenager?” Sabrina asks. “A normal, healthy teenager? She’s been shut in this house our whole lives, Aunt A. She’s finally getting out into the world and going out beyond your control. Is that what you don’t like?”

“Why don’t you let your sister speak for herself? Is that why you’ve changed so quickly? I’ve been a burden on your social life?” Aunt Zelda asks you.

“Okay!” Aunt Hilda says before you can answer. “Before I forget, I have made you these.” Aunt Hilda says, rushing into the green room and grabbing something from a table as Aunt Zelda stands and walks across the kitchen. “Ooh! They're to take to the  
academy. Keep in your little pockets.” She coos as she hands something wrapped in cloth to you and Sabrina.

“Protection charms,” Sabrina says with faked interest.

“Thank-you Aunt Hilda!” You smile, feeling a little better about going so far from home for so long. 

“Honestly, Hilda, what next? Crystals? Sage?” Aunt Zelda asks as she pours herself a cup of coffee.

“I was concerned, Zelda,” Aunt Hilda sighs as you and Sabrina sit at the table, “that they were gonna get bullied. You know how cruel girls can be at that, or any, age.” She rolls her eyes.

“Don't worry about me, Aunt Hilda,” Sabrina says, examining the protection charms. “I can take care of myself. And my little sister.” She says jokingly to you.

“It will be the blind leading the blind.” You say, matching her tone. “The only difference is I can cast spells better than you.” You say, toying with a button on your shirt.

“I know.” She smiles. “Ooh! What if you take Salem and Edward with you? Or we could teleport them to you.” Aunt Zelda turns her attention to Salem, who meows at her.

“Nonsense.” Aunt Zelda says, walking towards Salem, who knows he’s not supposed to be on the counter. “Only babies and ninnies take their familiars to school.” She picks up the familiar and places him on the floor. “Remember when you tried to bring your  
spiders?” She laughs. “How all the other students laughed and called you names?” She sits next to you.

“Yes.” Aunt Hilda forces a chuckle. “I remember one in particular,” she mumbles.

“My years at the academy were amongst the happiest of my life.” Aunt Zelda says as she leans in close to the two of you. “The books I read, the friendships I cultivated. It was like being part of the most marvelous salon, arguing about ideas, philosophy. Your  
father and I would get into such debates.”

“Hmm, really? Because you seemed to be on the same page about signing my name in the Book of the Beast.” Sabrina says. Before Aunt Zelda can retaliate, Aunt Hilda interrupts.

“Eat up and then I'll get my coat and drive you.” She says quickly.

“Nice save.” You mouth to her.

“Absolutely not, Hilda.” Aunt Zelda says as she rises.

“Hmm?”

“You've been excommunicated, or had you forgotten?”

“Oh, how could I forget when you're reminding me every other minute?”

“As a consequence, you're not allowed within spitting distance of the academy or any other Church of Night property, for that matter.”

“Well, I can give my nieces a bloody hug before they go, can't I?” She asks as she walks towards you. She wraps her arms around the two of you, not breaking eye contact with Aunt Zelda. You can hear her sniffle as she holds back tears. Aunt Zelda rolls her eyes  
as she turns her head away.

“Before I forget,” She says when Aunt Hilda releases you, “I have something for you Y/N.” She leaves the room and returns a few minutes later with a small black box in her hand. She hands it to you and sits at the table next to you. You open it to reveal a simple  
silver necklace with a small silver star.

“It’s beautiful.” You reply. “Thank-you Aunt Zelda!”

“It’s tradition. I wore it to my first day at the academy and you can wear it to yours.” She smiles proudly.

“I’ll never take it off!” You smile at her. You know Aunt Zelda just bought it from the jewelry store in town and put a bunch of protection spells on it, but you don’t say it.

“Diana had a fondness for stars.” Aunt Hilda comments. “All right girls, eat up, you don’t want to be late.” The four of you eat in silence. Once breakfast is over, you and Sabrina grab your coats, you grab your red one, and follow Aunt Zelda outside to the car. “Goodbye, my darlings. Stay safe. Behave yourself. Try not to fight with each other or anyone else. If you have any trouble, call us.” Aunt Hilda says as she hugs you one last time. She quickly plucks Edward off your head. He screeches in protest but is unable to escape Aunt Hilda’s grip.

“Goodbye, Auntie,” Sabrina says.

“Bye, Aunt Hilda.” You say, feeling nervous. Sabrina climbs into the back of the car and you sit up front next to Aunt Zelda. You play with the star on your necklace as you watch the world pass by your window.

“You’re growing up so quickly.” Aunt Zelda says proudly as she drives to the academy. “It seems like only yesterday-”

“You were signing my name in the Book of the Beast?” Sabrina asks.

“It seems like only yesterday that the two of you were born.” Aunt Zelda says sternly. “Honestly, Sabrina.” She sighs.

“Let’s not spend our last moments together arguing.” You say. “Will you pick us up from the academy by yourself?” You ask, changing the subject.

“Yes, Hilda can’t go anywhere near the school.” She says simply, her mood ruined by Sabrina.

“So, Mother liked stars?” You ask, changing the subject.

“She had a fondness for many things. She had some strange nickname for the two of you involving stars, I don’t remember what they were. Hilda might.” She says. You know she hates talking about your mother. There is silence for a few minutes.

“If you wore this to your first day of the academy, how old is this?” You ask, looking at the necklace. 

“It’s not polite to ask a woman how old she is.”

“Are you going to miss us?” You ask. Aunt Zelda glances at you.

“Do not worry about me, Y/N. Everything will be fine at home.” The rest of the ride is silent until you pull up to train tracks by the school. “This is where we part ways.” Aunt Zelda says as she parks the car. “Follow the train tracks and you’ll find the school.” You look at for a moment while Sabrina climbs out of the car and pulls your bags out “Why are you looking at me like that?” She asks you. 

“Because I’m gonna miss you.” You say fighting tears.

“Honestly, Y/N, you’re sixteen years old. You can’t stay with me forever.” She says quietly as you hug her. 

“You wish I could though.”

“This school will be wonderful. You’ll have so much fun it’ll be time to come home before you know it. Maybe you’ll make some appropriate friends.” You look into her green eyes. “Call me if something goes wrong or if you don’t feel well. If you’re cursed, go to the nurse and have Sabrina call me.”

“Yes, Auntie.” You say before climbing out of the car. You take Sabrina’s hand as you watch Aunt Zelda drive away. You pick up your bag with your other hand.

“Still excited?” Sabrina asks you as you begin to walk towards the academy.

“No.” You pout. 

“Grow up.” She laughs. You glare at her. “You know that isn’t the necklace that Aunt Zelda wore, right?”

“Of course, I know.” You smile. “Aunt Zelda put a bunch of protection spells on it.” You smile. “That’s what she does.”

“Why didn’t I get one?”

“Because you keep arguing with her.” You laugh, feeling better about going to the academy. The two of you stop at an old, decrepit building where a small child is standing. 

“Pardon me, Miss. Are you Sabrina? And are you Y/N?”

“We are.” You say at the same time.

“I'm Quentin. We've been expecting you. This way, please.” The boy says quickly. He leads you inside the building 

“Are you a student here?”

“Oh, of course, Miss.” He says, stopping on the steps. “I'm here to show you to Father Blackwood's office.”

“We haven’t even started and we’re already in trouble.” You whisper to Sabrina. The three of you walk into the academy and Quentin begins his small tour of the large building.

“The academy was built according to the principles of sacred geometry. Each room is a perfectly proportioned pentagon that locks with the one next to it. No one knows how many pentagons there are, exactly. Some say an infinite number.” He says. You stare at the statue that stands in the middle of the room until Quentin drags you away and to Father Blackwood’s office.

“Hello, girls.” Father Blackwood says as she stands when the two of you enter his office. “Thake the girls’ bags and coats to their room, Quentin.” He says to the boy.

“I-I’d like to keep my coat.” You say.

“Nonsense, Quentin will take good care of your things.” Father Blackwood insists. You reluctantly take off your coat and hand it and your bag to Quentin. Sabrina does the same. “Welcome to the Academy of Unseen Arts, Miss Spellman, and Miss Spellman.” Father Blackwood says when Quentin leaves. I recognize that there's been a bit of unpleasantness between us, but that's only because we so desperately wanted to get you here.” He smiles. “I've prepared your schedules.” He hands each of you a booklet. You begin to look through them.

“Will we have classes together?” You ask nervously.

“Of course. We try to keep twins close together as long as neither of them has a problem with it and it doesn’t prove to be a danger or distraction to others.” You nod in reply as Father Blackwood sits down. 

“Um,” Sabrina says, looking at her schedule.

“Yes?”

“What about classes like conjuring? Binding rituals? Demonology?” Father Blackwood quickly stands up.

“You have to fulfill the academy's general requirements first.” He pulls a watch out of his pocket. “Just now, I believe, you are due at choir practice.” He closes the watch and puts it back in his pocket. He leads the two of you to the chorus room. 

“A choir sounds like fun.” You say, trying to be positive as you play with your necklace.

“Yes, many students enjoy it.” Father Blackwood says. “Forgive the interruption, my dear,” he says as he opens the door to the chorus room, “but I have two additions to your ranks.” He says to the woman. She walks towards the two of you. “Sabrina and Y/N Spellman, my wife, Lady Blackwood.”

“I've heard a lot about the two of you, Sabrina and Y/N.” She says as she shakes Sabrina’s hand. “We've all heard a lot about you.” You hear some of the students in the room chuckle. “Welcome.” She shakes your hand.

“Thank you, ma’am.” You say quietly. 

“I'll leave the Spellman twins in your capable hands, then.” There is silence as Father Blackwood leaves the room.

“Now, girls,” Lady Blackwood says when Father Blackwood is gone, “can you sight read music?” She hands the two of you a folder to share. “Just a verse or two, so I know where to place you. As identical twins, I believe it is safe to assume you have the same vocal range.”

“It’s time we put our love behind you, illusion has been just a dream, the valley of death and I’ll find you, now is when on a sunshine beam. So bring us the young perfection, for there I shall surely be, no clothing, tears, or hunger, you can see, you can see, you can be.” The two of you sing in perfect unison.

“My, my.” Lady Blackwood says. “Prudence. I do believe you have some competition, finally.” Prudence forces a smile.

“We’re going to be in trouble.” You think to Sabrina.

“We can handle it.” She thinks back.

"Do you think I can get by with acting tough like that time I bit her?"

"Probably not, but you can try."

“You two may stand next to Prudence.” Lady Blackwood says. “It will be a pleasure to have you in my choir.” 

“Thank-you, Lady Blackwood.” You say.

“Which one are you?” She asks as she raises an eyebrow.

“Y/N Spellman, ma’am. The younger one.” You reply.

“I see.” She says to herself as you and Sabrina take your places.

“It’s a pleasure to see you again,” Prudence whispers to you.

“Don’t make me bite you again.” You growl. 

“Oh please, I’m sure your auntie has you on a tight leash.” Prudence taunts with a smirk. “I see she’s already placed a collar on you in case her little mutt get lost.” She grabs the chain of your necklace and pulls you toward her, forcing your face just inches from hers. “You’re not the only one that bites.” She purrs as she nips at your nose. In a panic, you send a jolt of electricity through the necklace. Prudence quickly releases it and glares at you. There is a faint smell of burnt skin as Prudence hides her hand. Lady Blackwood pretends not to notice as she begins to conduct you all in another song. You sing three songs before she dismisses you for lunch.

“Ladies, take my advice.” Lady Blackwood stops the two of you. “Try to stay out of trouble.”

“Yes, Lady Blackwood.” You and Sabrina say in unison before heading to the cafeteria. You stand in line and are handed a try containing meat, corn, some bread, green beans, and a piece of sponge cake topped with chocolate ganache. You follow Sabrina to an empty table.

“At least the food looks good.” She smiles at you.

“I miss Aunt Hilda’s lunches.” You reply as you pick up a fork and poke at the food on the metal tray. 

“Hey, are you okay?” Sabrina asks as she eats her green beans.

“I’m fine, just in a foul mood.” You reply. 

“You electrocuted Prudence, but I could tell that you didn’t do it on purpose.”

“I didn’t. It was a more powerful blast than I’ve done before too. I guess she startled me and with everything going on, I just lost control.” You shrug. “I’ll be fine once we get back home.” You try to rationalize as you begin to eat your lunch.

"Still going to play tough witch?"

"Maybe." You smile slightly. 

"It doesn't suit you well, you're too fragile and sensitive." She smiles.

“Hi. I'm Nicholas Scratch.” A boy says from behind the two of you as he stands next to Sabrina. “Nick Scratch. Mind if I join you?”

“Sure. Sure. I'm Sabrina.” Sabrina says.

“Spellman.” Nicholas interrupts. “You're Edward Spellman's daughters.”

“We are.” You say to him.

“Your reputations precede you. Your father's as well. I'm, uh, reading his journals right now.”

“You are? How do you have them?” Sabrina asks.

“And can we read them?” You ask.

“I don't. Not personally. They're in the Sanctum, the library for advanced students, under lock and key. Cassius, the librarian, brings them out to you, one by one, but you can't even take notes while reading them.”

“Why not?”

“They're considered dangerous texts. Your father was a controversial figure in the witch community. But why am I telling you that?”

“You mean, for marrying our mother?” Sabrina asks, obviously interested in what the boy has to say.

“And some of his more radical ideas. Radical to others, by the way, I personally think he was brilliant. Ahead of his time. The greatest conjurer the Church of Night has ever produced.”

“He’s blatantly flirting with you.” You think to Sabrina.

“Is that what you're studying at the academy? Conjuring?” She asks, ignoring you.

“Conjuration. Demonology. Invocation. Ritual magic. Necromancy, but that's hush-hush.”

“Oh, wow. It's fun?”

“Yeah.” He smiles.

“Sabrina,” Prudence says as she and her sisters approach the table. “Nicholas, we're not interrupting, are we?”

“No, not at all. Join us, please.” Sabrina smiles.

“Or go jump into the Pit.” You growl as the three girls set their trays across from you.

“Careful mutt or I’ll pull your collar again.” She glares at you. “Well, Sabrina, how are you enjoying the academy so far? Is it like your other school?”

“Uh, Baxter High?” Sabrina chuckles. “No. Not really.”

“You know what we heard? We heard you didn't want to take your Dark Baptism because you were in love with some mortal boy.” She says, looking at Nicholas. “Must be some Spellman kink, hmm? Slumming with mortals? Like father, like daughter, right?”

“Fuck off Prudence!” You say, standing up. “You insult my family one more time and I’ll bite you again. You’ll have another lovely scar. Maybe this time I’ll go for the jugular.” You say louder than you should have. 

“Careful, Nicky, or she'll cocktease you the way she did the Dark Lord,” Prudence says, ignoring you.

“Why do you have to be such a bitch all the time, Pru?” Nicholas sighs. 

“I don't know, Nicky.” She smiles. “Why do you have to be such a warlock-slut all the time?” There’s a tense silence as you debate on shoving what’s left of your lunch down Prudence’s shirt.

“What's your next class? And can I please walk you?”

“Sure. See you later, ladies.” Sabrina smiles to the Weird Sisters as the three of you stand.

“Oh, don't worry we will,” Prudence smirks knowingly.

“So, what class do you have next?” Nicholas asks.

“We have sacred algebra.” You say, looking at your schedule. “I hope it isn’t as boring as the algebra at the mortal school.” Nicholas laughs.

“What is mortal school like?”

“It’s kind of like this school, but without religion yet full of religion. There are still bullies who think they’re better than everyone because of their status or looks. There’s homework and assignments and papers and there’s no magic. For us, it means constantly hiding a part of who we are.” You say shrug.

“How long have you gone to mortal school?”

“Sabrina has been going since she was four and I started going a few days ago.”

“Mortal school isn’t all that bad, though,” Sabrina says, nudging you.

“It’s a horrible place, Nicholas. But not quite as horrible as being within three hundred miles of the Weird Sisters.”

“You’re all right, Spellmans.” He says to the two of you. “This is your class.” He says as she stops in front of a doorway. “I’ll see you two later?”

“Absolutely.” You smile to him, holding out your hand. He sakes it before giving Sabrina a wink.

“Do you have a thing for Nick?” Sabrina smiles to you as you walk into the classroom.

“No, but I adore speaking to a warlock that isn’t our cousin.” You reply. Your first day of school is full of new challenges and tasks and you are ready to sleep once the sun sets and you, Sabrina, and several other girls are all in the large room you all share.

“I don’t like this. I don’t like sharing a room with you let alone like twenty other girls.” You complain as you wrap yourself in your favorite blanket.

“It will be fine, it’s only for a few nights anyway,” Sabrina whispers in the darkness.

“I say we cast a protection charm.”

“We will be fine. Just try to sleep.” Sabrina laughs. You start to drift off when you’re woken up by the sound of someone speaking.

“Don't show them you're scared, or they'll kill you on the spot.” The voice says. You sit up and look around. You’re not the room with the other girls or Sabrina. You play with your necklace as you look around in the darkness with only a candle to provide light. You hear a door unlock and open. You jump up, ready to fight or run.

“You're in the Witch's Cell,” Prudence says as she walks into the room with her sisters behind her. Where the Greendale Thirteen were held.”

“What are you doing? Where is Sabrina? Where is my sister?” You yell.

“This is the Harrowing.” She says as she and her sister surround you. “It's a witch tradition. You have to be able to endure what those earliest Greendale witches did. Thirteen made it to the noose, but many more perished in here.” She and her sister begin to walk in a circle around you. You feel like a trapped animal.

“This place winnowed them.” One of the girls says. 

“No sunlight, no water, no food. Wallowing in their own filth, most witches went mad and cut their own throats.” She says, handing you a knife. “They haunt this place still. They'll show you terrible things in the dark. Things that will make you go insane. But you're a Spellman.” She mocks. “A daughter of a High Priest. You're not scared of the dark. You can take it. Unless, of course, you lose your head.” The three of them walk out of the room, closing and locking the door behind them. You hear them laughing as they walk away, leaving you alone with nothing but the candle. You stay close to the candle, your only source of light. The idea of creating a fire using magic crosses your mind, but you know you can’t keep a flame going too long before you completely exhaust yourself and this is the last place you want to fall asleep in. You pace around the candle, unsure of what to do. You jump when you hear something rustling in the darkness.

“What in Satan’s name are you doing in here? Where is Sabrina?” Aunt Zelda’s voice calls out to you. You can make out her figure in the dim light of the candle, but nothing else. You want to run up to her for protection, but you know better. There’s no way Aunt Zelda knows you’re here. You stare at the figure, waiting for it to make the first move. “I asked you a question.” The figure crosses its arms. You stare at it. Something rushes past you, causing the light on the candle to flicker. It rushes at the figure and attacks it. You hear Aunt Zelda’s voice yelp in pain. “Y/N, help me!” It calls out in between screams of pain. “Come and help your aunt!” You hear clothes ripping and what you assume is bones breaking. Aunt Zelda’s screams of pain become gargles as you hear something wet splatter onto the floor. You stare in the darkness, knowing that if something managed to defeat Aunt Zelda or something that looked like Aunt Zelda, it more than likely can take you out with ease. You wait in the darkness, hoping it’ll end soon. Suddenly, a beast rushes at you, but instead of knocking you down, it goes through you, like a spirit. In retaliation, you toss a ball of fire at it, but it doesn’t affect it. Instead, the nearby plants catch on fire. Within seconds, the fire spreads all around you, leaving a foot of space between you and flames. You feel the smoke burn your eyes and your lungs. Breathing becomes difficult.

“W-water.” You cough out, trying to remember how to summon water. “How do I make water?” You think, trying to go through your list of spells, but coming up with nothing. You decide that the best option is to try to run out of the circle of flames, but when you go to move you discover that you can’t, you’re bound to something you can’t see. You’re going to be burned alive. You close your eyes, preparing for death, but death never comes. Your lungs burn and breathing is painful, but you don’t suffocate. Your eyes are full of tears, your body’s attempt at keeping them from drying out. Another figure stands before you, but you don’t recognize it. It stands just inside the flames and points at your neck before it and the flames vanish. You fall to the ground, still bound by something you can’t see. Figures vanish in an out of the light of the candle until the candle finally goes out and you are left in complete darkness with only the sounds of things rustling around the room to let you know you’re still alive at the moment. When the sun begins to rise, your binds disappear and you’re able to move again. You stand up as you hear the door unlock. You stand close to it and see Prudence looking at you.

“I see you survived.” She says, giving you a haughty smile.

“A night in this pit isn’t anywhere near as bad as looking at your ugly faces.” You reply, pushing past them. You rush through the halls, still in your pajamas as you look for Sabrina. You see her talking on the phone.

“I didn't ever go to sleep, Harvey.” She says into the phone. You roll your eyes, trying to control your shaking body. Sabrina looks at you and relief washes over both of you when you make eye contact. “Not exactly. I hate it here.” There’s a pause. “No. I can't. I have to see it through.” Another pause. She reaches out for your hand and you gladly hold onto her. “They are. But this is helping.” A short pause. “Hearing your voice.” She smiles at you. “Keep talking, Harvey Kinkle, just keep talking.” You wait for her to finish her conversation. 

“Did they hurt you?” The two of you ask each other at the same time as you hug each other. Neither of you care about the stares you’re getting as you’re hugging in the hallway in your pajamas.

“They took me to some kind of cell-”

“Me too.” You say. “Did you have horrible monsters and figures and fire?”

“No, Salem protected me. Did Edward protect you?”

“No, Edward is still at home.” You say. “How did Salem get here?” You ask.

“It’s part of our deal. He protects me and I protect him.” You can’t help but feel a little jealous.

“Lucky.” You say, forcing a smile. “We’re going to have a long day.” You yawn. The two of you quickly go to your room to prepare for the day. As Sabrina takes a shower, you look through your bag for something to read. “I forgot the book from the study I wanted to bring.” You mumble to yourself as you fall onto your bed. You stare at the ceiling for a moment and feel yourself start to fall asleep.

“Salem? Has anyone seen…” You hear Sabrina say. You sit up to look at your sister. “Give them back.” She says as she walks over to the Weird Sisters, who quickly close and sit on a chest.

“Whatever are you talking about?” Prudence asks.

“My cat. Who was sitting on my pajamas.”

“What cat?”

“What pajamas?”

“They were on my bed, now they're both gone,” Sabrina says as she walks towards them.

“They are? Oh, dear.” Prudence says as she stands up from the chest. Sabrina begins to look through it.

“I know you took them,” Sabrina says as she slams the chest shut. You stand up and stand behind the Weird Sisters.

“How bad do you want them?” Prudence purrs.

“Give them back to me!” Sabrina yells as she pushes Prudence. 

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” The girls around you start chanting. Sabrina pushes Prudence into you and you push her into Sabrina. She pushes both of you as the chanting gets louder.

“Miss Spellman and Miss Spellman!” Father Blackwood booms, silencing the room. “Get dressed at once, and then to my office.” He says. Prudence and her sister chuckle at the two of you as you do as you’re told.

“I could just kill her!” You say as the two of you walk through the halls to Father Blackwood’s office.

“You don’t have it in you. You’re not a murderer.” Sabrina sighs.

“I at least want to hurt her.” You mumble. “We need to call home and tell Aunt Zelda what’s going on.”

“No, we can’t let her know.” Sabrina stops you.

“Why not?”

“What will it help? If anything, it’ll only make things worse. We can’t go running to Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda every time something goes wrong. We have to grow up and deal with this on our own.” She says. 

“Okay.” You say simply, feeling your stomach drop at the idea of keeping something like this to yourself. The two of you remain silent until you reach Father Blackwood’s office. You knock on Father Blackwood’s door when you reach it.

“Come in.” He calls. You open the door for Sabrina and enter the room behind her. Aunt Zelda is sitting in a chair opposite Father Blackwood. “Have a seat, girls.” He says. You sit next to Aunt Zelda and stare at her for a moment, the figure from last night comes to mind and the sound of screaming echoes in your ears. She looks paler than usual.

“Remember, don’t tell her anything.” Sabrina thinks to you.

“You look exhausted.” She says to you. You avoid her gaze.

“I didn’t sleep well.” You reply blankly. You don’t look at her when you speak. You stare in Father Blackwood’s direction. Father Blackwood clears his throat before speaking.

“Firstly, familiars are not permitted at the academy. Salem will have to go home with Zelda.” Salem meows in protest. “Secondly, and I feel I must ask this, are you happy here, girls?

“Of course, they are, Faustus.”

“Picking fights with other students. Complaining about your schedule.”

“What's this now?” Aunt Zelda asks in surprise.

“I didn't come here to major in herbalism, or Latin, Aunt Zelda.”

“Well, of course, you didn't. If this is what you've got them studying, it's no wonder they’re feeling restless. They’re not being challenged.”

“I told Father Blackwood I wanted to study conjuring. Like our father.” Sabrina says. You remain silent.

“Zelda, I can't put them in conjuring without being sure they’re ready. It wouldn't be safe. For them or the other students.”

“Then test them.” Aunt Zelda says with determination. There is a moment of silence as the three of them exchange glances. Father Blackwood opens a drawer in his desk and takes out a key. He walks over a cabinet and pulls out a blue contraption. Aunt Zelda stares at it as though she already knows about it.

“What is it?” Sabrina asks.

“It's an Acheron Configuration if I'm not mistaken. An arcane puzzle.” Aunt Zelda says.

“A variation on it, yes.” Father Blackwood says as he returns to his seat and stares at the puzzle. “It's a test of mental and actual dexterity.” He stares at it for a moment. “Solve it, and you can join conjuring class.” He hands the puzzle to Sabrina.

“Or go mad trying.” Aunt Zelda comments.

“That won't happen with your nieces. Only the weak-willed fall prey to the Acheron's fascinations.”

“Quite right. The twins will prove themselves their father's daughter.” Aunt Zelda says proudly.

“I had forgotten how fiercely maternal you can be, Zelda.” Father Blackwood compliments. “There's a personal matter I'd like to discuss with you in private if your nieces will excuse us.”

“Of course, they will.” Aunt Zelda smiles. You and Sabrina stand. “And girls,” She stops you, “behave.”

“I will, Aunt Zelda.” Sabrina smiles. “Even though I'm still missing my pajamas,” Sabrina says as she looks at Father Blackwood before walking out of the room. You stare at Aunt Zelda for a moment. She looks at you, expecting you to say something. You nod at her and follow Sabrina out of the room. You can’t help but think that Aunt Zelda feels hurt at your lack of words. You follow Sabrina outside to where Nicholas is sitting as he reads a book.

“Hi there,” Sabrina says to him.

“Hey,” he greets the two of you as he stands up and leans against the concrete railing, “so, I heard you got into a fight with Prudence.” He smiles.

“We did.” You say. “She started it.”

“I'll talk to her.” He says somewhat protectively.

“Please don't,” Sabrina begs. “That will only make her hate us more.” He chuckles and nods in response. “So, did you guys date?” She asks, changing the subject.

“For a short period of time, yeah. Yeah, I was involved with the sisters.”

“All three of them? All at once?” Sabrina asks in surprise.

“You poor boy, were you blind and deaf during that dark time in your life?” You ask with a smirk. 

“What happened?” Sabrina asks.

“Their gifts include mind control. I wasn't sure what was real and what was suggestion. What are you doing with an Acheron Configuration?” It’s his turn to change the subject.

“Blackwood gave it to us. Says that as soon as we solve it, we get to take conjuring classes.”

“Hmm. Okay.” He laughs.

“What? What's so funny?”

“That particular configuration was your father's thesis. He designed and built it.”

“Our father did?” You ask.

“Yeah.” He says, taking the configuration from Sabrina. “Blackwood's been trying to solve this damn thing for twenty years. I tried for three. Gave up.” He toys with one of the pieces of the configuration. “See, the configuration's almost like a kaleidoscope. Its colors and patterns are” he pauses as he looks into it, “addictive, and the more you stare at it, the harder it is to solve. If you're not careful, it can mess with your head. You can get lost in it.”

“Wonderful.” Sabrina smiles as he hands her the configuration.

“Due respect, girls, you're never going to be able to do it.”

“If our father made it, then he probably wrote about it in his journals, right?”

“Nothing explicit. Nothing I've come across.”

“Yes, but you're not a Spellman,” Sabrina says.

“Sneak me into the library, get me access to his journals and we can figure it out.” You say.

“What you're asking is impossible. Okay? I mean, if we got caught, and we would, we'd all be expelled from the academy.”

“I doubt I'd be expelled. They'd probably just extend my immersion indefinitely.” Sabrina rolls her eyes.

“Would that be such a bad thing? Being a full-time student here?”

“We should go.” She says as she walks away. You look at him before shrugging and rushing after Sabrina.

“What if he’s right? What if we can’t figure the puzzle out?” You ask her when you catch up to her.

“We keep trying until we solve it or go mad.” She says with stubborn determination.

“What happens if we do solve it?”

“We get into conjuring classes.”

“No, I mean puzzles usually having something inside them and I highly doubt this will be like Aunt Hilda’s puzzles that she puts candy in.” You say, poking at the blue configuration.

“We’ll just have to take that chance.” She replies. “We’ll take turns, no more than a minute at a time for each of us and if either one of us is getting too crazy from it, we quit for the day.” 

“Okay, but we need to be careful.” You sigh. “We don’t know what that thing will do when we solve it. If it was a thesis project, it more than likely does something when it’s solved. I just hope it’s not a bomb.”

“Why would Father make a bomb?” She laughs as the two of you head back to your room.

“Why wouldn’t he make a bomb? If I knew how I’d make one just to screw with Ambrose.” Sabrina rolls her eyes. The two of you spend the rest of the day trying to solve the puzzle with several breaks and naps in between attempts. As the lights in the room turn off at night, you and Sabrina sit under a sheet and work on the puzzle.

“I think we’re getting close,” Sabrina whispers.

“We’ve been working on this all day. If anything, we’re farther from solving it than we were this morning.” You reply. You watch Sabrina fiddle with the contraption until the sheet is ripped off you. You turn around to see the Weird Sisters. “Oh, for fuck's sake.” You roll your eyes.

“Oh no,” Sabrina whispers.

“Oh yes,” Prudence smirks.

“Guys, please. We have no reason to hate each other.” Sabrina says.

“Wrong. We have plenty of reasons to hate you. Your father betrayed his own kind to marry a mortal. You'll betray us the first chance you get. If you survive the Harrowing.”

“Come closer and I’ll betray you right now you whore.” You growl.

“Quiet, mutt.”

“Wh-But I already did survive. Last night.” Sabrina says, confused.

“That was only the beginning.” Prudence smiles.

“I'll scream.” Sabrina threatens.

“You think anyone here will help you? They hate you. Scream as much as you'd like, it'll just be twenty girls harrowing you instead of three.”


	8. Chapter 4 Part 2

The three girls lead the two of you into the woods. “This is the same path the Greendale Thirteen, who'd survived torture and imprisonment, walked to the noose."

“They kept their eyes straight ahead, fixed on the path.”

“Mortals surrounded them on either side and if any witch lifted their eyes to meet a human's gaze-”

“They were stoned to death on the spot.” They lead you to a large tree. 

“What, what do we do now?” Sabrina asks as one of the sisters plays with your hair and another plays with her hair.

“You do exactly what the original thirteen did,” Prudence says. “You stand in the wet, cold night.” The other two sisters begin to undress you. “Exposed. Without shoes. Without rest. And you don't turn around, no matter what you hear.”

“For how long?”

“Until dawn.”

“Sounds better than looking at your face and listening to your voice.” You comment.

“And if I turn around, what happens?” Sabrina asks. There is no answer. 

“Guess they ran off.” You say. You don’t hear a reply from Sabrina. “Sabrina?” There’s no answer. You look as far towards her general direction as you can without turning your head, but you can’t see Sabrina. “Sometimes I hate magic.” You sigh to yourself. You hear something manifest behind you.

“Y/N, it's your mother.” A woman’s voice suddenly says from behind you. You recognize her voice from Aunt Hilda’s family videos. Your breath catches in your throat. “Starlight, please, turn around.” The voice begs. “That’s what I called you when you were a baby, Starlight. Let me look at you, your face. Just once, Starlight, please.”

“M-my mother is, is dead.” You say, staring at the tree. You jump as your ears are filled with the sounds of your mother’s tortured screams.

“What if that was Mother’s spirit and the creature destroyed her?” You think to yourself.

“Y/N, that's no way to speak to your mother. Apologize.” A man’s voice scolds you. Your father. You also recognize his voice form the home movies.

“Father.” You whisper.

“My brave young girl, why won't you look at me?”

“You aren’t him.” You say softly, closing your eyes.

“Just a quick peek, my darling. My light, my life. One tiny glance and you'll see. It will all be over.”

“No, I don’t want it to be all over. I’m going to survive.” You say with shaky determination. You hear his screams as he disappears.

“Y/N, turn around.” You hear Aunt Zelda’s voice say. Your eyes go wide.

“G-go away.” You stammer.

“I said turn around. I am your aunt and you shall do as I say.” There’s silence. “Please, Y/N. I can’t help you until you turn around.” 

“My Aunt Zelda wouldn’t save me. Not yet. She’d wait and see if I could save myself and then if I couldn’t, she’d come and save me.” You don’t hear anything for a few moments. No screams of agony, nothing.

“There you are, darling!” Aunt Hilda’s voice says. “Come along, we need to find Sabrina before she gets hurt! Y/N?” 

“Go away, demon.”

“I am not a demon!” The voice protests.

“Manifestation, spirit, clone, whatever you are, go away!” You say loudly. You feel anger burning inside you, but you’re also terrified.

“Y/N, this is no time to be stubborn!” 

“I said leave!” You yell, tears forming in your eyes. You hear Aunt Hilda’s screams fill the air. You close your eyes.

“There you are!” Sabrina’s voice says to you.

“Sister?” You say, eyes opening.

“I’m so glad I found you! Take my hand and let’s get out of here!”

“You’re not Sabrina.”

“What? Of course, I am! I am your twin sister!” She yells. You don’t reply to her. “Please, Y/N, we have to get out of here before that, that thing comes back!” You hold back a sob. “Please, I can’t leave without you, you’re my sister.” 

“Leave.” You choke out. Tears run down your face as you hear your own twin screaming in agony as her bones are broken. There’s a brief moment of silence. All you hear is your heart beating wildly in your chest. Tears run down your face like rain. 

“You have one last chance, niece. Leave with me or perish.” Aunt Zelda’s voice says again. You feel a hand on your shoulder. “It’s okay. Calm down. Just keep breathing.” The voice says. “Look at me,” She whispers in your ear as she squeezes your shoulder.

“I-I can’t.” You choke out.

“Darling, I love you. Please, just look at me. Look at me and everything will be okay.”

“Leave me be.” You whisper, feeling your body shake. You desperately want to turn around and see your aunt’s face, but you know better. You know it can’t possibly be Aunt Zelda. 

“Y/N, please, we don’t have much time. We have to leave now or we’ll both be killed by that beast.”

“No,”

“Do you want both of us to die?” She asks. You can almost picture her face, her eyes wide in surprise and desperation, her red lipstick, you can almost smell the faint smell of cigarettes and alcohol. Almost.

“Yes.” You reply. “I want you…. I want you to…. to die. I want to die!” You finally scream.

“No, please, thinking of what you’re doing!” Aunt Zelda says in desperation. You hear her scream. You scream as loudly and long as you can, trying to drown out the sounds of her screams and her bones breaking and her flesh ripping. You close your eyes, cover your ears, and scream and scream and scream until you can’t make another sound.

“It's morning, Miss,” Quentin says from behind you as you shiver in the cold. You've both passed their test. You can come back to school now.”

“B-both?” You whisper. You notice that the sun has risen, and Sabrina is standing beside you. She looks exhausted and traumatized. “Sister?” You croak out, throat sore and voice hoarse.

“Y/N?” You slowly reach out to touch her, to make sure she’s real. She grabs you and pulls you into a hug.

“Quentin, you shouldn't be out here alone. These woods aren't safe.” She says in a quiet and scared whisper when she lets go of you.

“There's nothing out here that can hurt me anymore.” He says simply.

“That thing or those things have tried to kill us all night. How can nothing out here hurt you?” You ask, trying to fight off the burning in your throat.

“Come, I'll show you.” You and Sabrina follow him deeper into the woods. He leads you to a headstone.

“What?” Sabrina asks him as she knees down to look at it.

“There used to be a groundskeeper who buried us, but he died many years ago.” You look at all the graves around you. “Would you like to meet the others?”

“Oh, Quentin,” Sabrina whispers. “We have to do something.” She says to you. You nod in reply. The two of you hurry back to the academy. You quickly shower and spin into new clothes. Sabrina does the same.

“Take this.” She says as she hands you a hard candy.

“Candy?” You choke out.

“It’s magic, it’ll fix your voice.” You nod and put the candy in your mouth, feeling the burning and pain disappear. The two of you then head to the phones. “Can we tell them now that we’re being harrowed?” You ask.

“We have to. If we don’t, we might die, or other kids will die.”

“We should have told Aunt Zelda yesterday when she was here!” You say as you walk up to the phones. Sabrina dials the number for the mortuary.

“Is it ringing?” You ask.

“Yes, it’s ringing.” She replies. She holds the phone out towards you so you can hear it ring.

“Spellman Sisters Mortuary, how may I assist you?” Tears well up in your eyes at the sound of Aunt Hilda’s voice.

“Aunt Hilda, it's me,” Sabrina says into the phone.

“Oh! It's Sabrina. It's Sabrina!” She squeals. “Come on! Oh! It's so nice to hear your voice. How are you, my little possum? Is Y/N with you?”

“Uh, I'm okay, and she’s here, but we need your and Aunt Zelda's help.”

“Sabrina?” Aunt Zelda’s voice comes across the phone. “This is Zelda. What kind of help? What have you done now? Is Y/N okay?”

“No, we’re not, Aunt Zelda!” You blurt into the phone.

“Children are dying at the academy, Aunt Z, and no one is doing anything to stop it.”

“Dying? Dying how?”

“Students have been harrowed to death by other students,” Sabrina says.

“And the weird sisters are harrowing us.” You say quietly.

“Are they now?” Aunt Zelda asks venomously.

“We'll be right there, love.” Aunt Hilda says steadily.

“Okay. Please hurry.” Sabrina whispers before hanging up the phone.

“What do we do now?”

“We wait until the aunties come.” She says. The two of you are still and quiet for a moment.

“W-who did you hear? Last night, I mean.” You ask nervously.

“Harvey and Mom and Dad and Roz and Susie and Ambrose and…..” She trails off.

“I heard Mom and Dad too, and Aunt Zelda and Aunt Hilda.”

“I think that hardest one was hearing you.” You both say at the same time.

“It was so real.” You mumble. “Let’s go wait for Aunt Zelda and Aunt Hilda.” You say after a moment. The two of you rush outside and sit on the steps, waiting for your aunts to show up.

“Remember the time we sat on the porch steps and waited for Aunt Zelda to come home because you locked us out?” Sabrina asks as she hugs her knees to her chest.

“Remember the time we sat on the porch steps in the rain waiting for Aunt Zelda and Aunt Hilda to come home because you locked us out?” You ask, a small smile forming on your lips.

“Remember the time we sat on the porch steps in the rain waiting for Aunt Zelda and Aunt Hilda to come home because Ambrose locked us out?” You both laugh.

“Are you two alright?” Aunt Zelda asks moments later when she rushes up to the school, Aunt Hilda on her heels. She inspects Sabrina’s face before looking at you. “I knew something was wrong yesterday when you were acting so strangely. Were you being harrowed then?” 

“Yes, Auntie.” You say, looking into her worried eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“We didn’t want to make the situation worse. We didn’t know we could die.” Sabrina defends herself. 

“This was your idea, wasn’t it?” Aunt Zelda asks her with a glare. “It’s doesn’t matter. We’re going to speak to Faustus right now.” Aunt Zelda says as she charges into the school. 

“I’m so glad you’re both safe.” Aunt Hilda whispers as she hugs both of you. She quickly follows behind Aunt Zelda and the two of you follow behind her.

“Wait here.” She says to the three of you, leaving you all outside of Father Blackwood’s office. She goes inside. Sabrina and Aunt Hilda sit on a couch outside the office. You quietly walk to the door and listen.

“What are you doing?” Aunt Hilda hisses.

“I’m eavesdropping, obviously.” You reply. “Now be quiet so I can listen.”

“Faustus, we have a problem.” Aunt Zelda says. “My nieces are being harrowed and they’ve discovered that other children who have been harrowed are being killed.”

“But Zelda, harrowings have always been a part of the academy. They're tradition. You even participated in some yourself.”

“That’s not all that surprising.” You think to yourself.

“Spirited child's play, Faustus. I never killed a child!” Aunt Zelda argues.

“Other than your sister, who is in violation of her excommunication by coming here.” Father Blackwood tries to change the subject.

“I would contend that circumstances demanded it.” Aunt Zelda defends.

“And I would contend that the Church of Night is only as strong as its weakest member and that a good harrowing forges the weak.”

“My nieces are not weak.”

“I have no doubt that Sabrina is not weak, but the other, Y/N, is questionable. Especially with her history and several close calls.”

“She is just as strong as any witch in this academy.” Aunt Zelda growls.

“Then really, sister, what is there to worry about?”

“What if it were your child being harrowed?” Aunt Zelda asks. There is a moment of silence.

“I will look into it, Sister. If you’ll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to first.” He sighs. You hurry and sit next to Sabrina before they know you were listening in on them. The three of you stand as the door opens with a creak and Aunt Zelda walks out.

“What did he say?” Sabrina asks.

“He's going to look into it.” Aunt Zelda says curtly.

“And you believe him?”

“Of course not.” She says, obviously offended. “Take us to the children.” The four of you travel into the woods.

“What happened when I was younger?” You ask as you all walk through the woods.

“What are you talking about?” Aunt Zelda replies, not looking at you.

“Father Blackwood implied that I was weak because of some close calls. What was he talking about?” 

“You were eavesdropping.” Aunt Zelda states.

“And you’re changing the subject.” You reply.

“You were not a strong baby, not in health. You almost died at birth and for several months afterward, there were several times where it was a miracle you made it through the night.” She says, obviously leaving out a lot of detail.

“Why? Why was I like that?” You ask.

“You’re not old enough to know about the horrors of childbirth yet.” Aunt Zelda says simply.

“But your Aunt Zelda was the only one Edward trusted to care for you, and she’s been your protector ever since. Wouldn’t even let me hold you when you were born.” Aunt Hilda mumbles. Sabrina slows at the graves where you both saw the children.

“Quentin?” She calls. “Would you please come out? We, uh We want to help. And feel free to bring the others.” You feel a change in the atmosphere. The four of you turn around and see several children staring at you.

“Oh, the poor dears!” Aunt Hilda sighs as she takes off her sunglasses. “Your heart breaks for them.” You stand closer to Aunt Zelda, who places an arm around your shoulder.

“I think they're bound to the academy because they died here.”

“Witches hurting witches.” Aunt Zelda spits. “It's unspeakable.” Her grip on you tightens slightly.

“How can we free them?” You ask.

“Is that what you want, children?” Aunt Zelda asks as she lets go of you and walks towards the children, crouching down. “To be released from here?” 

“Where would we go? This is our home.” Quentin says.

“Yes, it is.” Aunt Zelda states. “So, what do you want, then?” She asks as she stands.

“I-I believe I know what they want.” Aunt Hilda pipes up. The three of you look at her in surprise. “I was harrowed back in my day. By my own sister, no less.” She says. You look at Aunt Zelda who has a ‘let’s not go through this again’ look on her face. “And the thing that I craved more than anything in the world was revenge.” She whispers. She turns to the three of you. “They just need someone to give them permission to do it.” She walks towards the children and crouches down. “Isn't that what all well-behaved children need? Permission?” Quentin nods. “Okay. Come on.” She smiles. “Gather around, my darlings. You listen to your Auntie Hilda.” She chuckles as the children walk closer to her. “We're gonna play a game, and you're gonna love it. We're gonna have fun. And you'll feel so much better.” You swear you see some regret or guilt or Aunt Zelda’s face as she watches Aunt Hilda.

“That could have been Aunt Hilda,” Sabrina whispers to you, “if it weren’t for the Cain Pit.”

“Nonsense.” Aunt Zelda says, causing the two of you to jump. “If it weren’t for the Cain Pit, I wouldn’t have killed my sister at all.”

“Does she know that doesn’t make killing her sister and better?” Sabrina thinks to you.

“Don’t ask, lest you be crawling out of your grave.” You think back, trying to hide a smirk. You listen as Aunt Hilda goes over her plan with the children and the three of you. 

“Are the two of you going to be okay?” Aunt Zelda asks as you walk out of the woods and back to the front of the school moments later.

“Yes, Auntie.” Sabrina answers.

“Must you leave so soon?” You ask, looking up at her.

“Yes, we both must. Hilda isn’t allowed here, and I have something to take care of at the mortuary.”

“But we’ll be back tomorrow morning to get you.” Aunt Hilda says.

“I’ll be back tomorrow morning.” Aunt Zelda corrects. She looks at the two of you. She hugs Sabrina as Aunt Hilda hugs you and then Aunt Hilda hugs Sabrina and Aunt Zelda hugs you. “I want you to call me as soon as you get your revenge. I don’t care what time it is.” She whispers in your ear.

“Yes, Auntie.” You reply. She lets go of you and looks at you both one last time.

“You’ve grown up well, both of you. Despite the hand you’ve been dealt and despite the odds. We’re proud of you.” She says before she and Aunt Hilda leave.

“What was that about?” Sabrina asks when they’re out of sight.

“I think she feels guilty for harrowing Aunt Hilda.” You shrug. “Shall we work on the puzzle some more before the Weird Sisters return and put our plan into motion?” You ask. Sabrina nods. The two of you head to the bedroom and begin working on the puzzle again, working on it in shifts and taking naps during your breaks. After several hours and a few breaks, the two of you begin to doze off as the sun sets and lights in the room are shut off.

“Are you ready to meet your fate?” Prudence disturbs you.

“Prudence, please, I'm begging you, leave us alone,” Sabrina begs.

“There's not a hope in hell of that, half-breed. Now get moving.” She says sternly. 

“Where are you taking us now?” She asks.

“For the final night of harrowing.” Prudence purrs. “Are you ready to breathe your last, mutt?” She whispers in your ear.

“Will it mean I won’t have to look at you anymore?” You shoot back.

“Would you like me to save your collar and give it to your master, little dog?” She responds.

“Go suck Satan’s dick.” You reply. She leads you back to the woods. The hair on the back of your neck stands up as memories from last night return to your memory. The screams seem to echo in your ear. “Everyone is okay,” you think to yourself, but it doesn’t stop your hands from shaking.

“Do you know what it's like to die by hanging?” Prudence asks as she stops by a tree. “Most people think it's fast, but it's not.” Ropes are placed around your necks. “Any last words?” She says to Sabrina. “Or comments?” She says, looking at you.

“Yes,” Sabrina says softly. “Thirteen witches were hanged here by witch hunters,” Sabrina says.

“Those women couldn't possibly have imagined a place like the academy.” You say.

“A school where witches would be safe. Even if they could, they'd never believe that the women inside its walls would turn on one another like this. Which is why,” she pauses.

“Which is why the academy tradition of harrowing ends tonight, Prudence.” You and Sabrina say at the same time. You can’t help but grin.

“It's three against one. You're going to die, half-breeds. So, give the Dark Lord our best, won't you?” The ropes are pulled, you feel it tighten and pull your neck.

“Light as a feather, stiff as a board. Light as a feather, stiff as a board. Light as a feather, stiff as a board. Light as a feather, stiff as a board. Light as a feather, stiff as a board.” The voices of children fill the air. The Weird Sisters are pulled into the air as though the ropes were around their necks. They gasp and struggle to breathe. You and Sabrina quickly remove your ropes.

“Like we said, harrowing of any kind will no longer be tolerated. Understood?” Sabrina asks as you watch them suffer. 

“Light as a feather, stiff as a board.” The children continue to chant.

“Understood?” Sabrina asks again. You watch the girls suffocate but Prudence managed to not.

“Damn, I was hoping they would refuse.” You comment. Sabrina looks at Quentin, who releases the girls. They fall to the ground, gasping for air. Sabrina reaches out a hand to Prudence. She reluctantly takes it and Sabrina pulls her to her feet. 

“If you say another thing about my mother or father to anyone ever again, I'll choke you to death on your own blood.”

“And if you ever insult my family again or separate me from my sister, I will make you suffer a lot worse than a bite or a little shock.” You growl. Prudence stares at you for a moment. “Shall we return to the academy, sister?” You say to Sabrina as you hold your hand out to her.

“Yes, we shall.” She says, not taking her eyes off Prudence as she takes your hand. The two of you walk back to the academy in silence.

“We look so badass right now.” You think to Sabrina.

“And you just ruined it.” She thinks back as a smile spreads across her face.

“Do you think we’ve taken care of the Weird Sisters for a while?”

“Probably not.”

“I didn’t think so.” The two of you make it to the academy just before dawn. You return to your rooms. You pack your things while Sabrina takes a shower and when she returns, she packs as you take a shower. The cold water feels wonderful on your skin. You close your eyes as you make the water warmer. You open your eyes to see you’re standing in the Greendale Woods. It’s dark outside and the wind is blowing your hair. You see Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda in the distance followed by babies crying. You walk up to them and see your mother and Father. Your mother is covered in blood.

“Just breathe,” Aunt Zelda says as she fiddles with a bundle of blankets. “Come on, Satan, please let her breathe!” 

“Zelda, I don’t think she’ll make it.” Aunt Hilda says, holding a similar bundle of blankets. You get closer to see that they’re holding babies.

“Aunt Zelda?” You say. But she doesn’t respond. She can’t hear you. “You reach out to touch her, but your hand goes right through her.

“We are not giving up on our niece.” Aunt Zelda snaps at Aunt Hilda. “Go bring Sabrina to Edward.” She continues to work with the newborn until a faint cry is heard. “Just keep breathing.” She whispers. “Praise Satan.” She sighs as the crying gets louder. Your father hands Sabrina to your mother and walks over to Aunt Zelda.

“I knew you could save her.” He whispers to her.

“We’ve never lost a baby.” She says, cradling the baby in her arms. She reluctantly hands the baby to Edward and he stares lovingly at the baby.

“Zelda, if something were to happen to Diana or me, I want you and Hilda to look after my daughters.”

“Edward, don’t talk like that.” Aunt Zelda forces a laugh as she places a gentle hand on the baby’s head. “You’re a high priest-”

“All the more reason for me to be concerned about my children’s safety. If something were to happen to me, they would become a target. If there comes a time when I am unable to care for my children, I want you to look after them. Raise them as though they were your own.” He says. He hands the baby back to Zelda. “You and Hilda are the only people I trust aside from Diana to care for my children.”

“Hey, are you done yet?” Sabrina calls to you. You jump in surprise.

“What did I just see?” You think to yourself. You turn off the water and step out of the shower. “Yeah, just give me a second.” You call to Sabrina. You spin into clean clothes and dry your hair. You walk out of the showers shaken form what you saw.

“You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Yeah, I just had a weird daydream.” You reply as you grab your bag.

“What about?”

“It was the night we were born and Father told Aunt Zelda to look after us if something were to happen to him.”

“What if it wasn’t a dream? What if it was a memory?” Sabrina asks.

“How could it be a memory? I couldn’t remember something from my first few hours of life. Half the time I can’t even remember what I ate for breakfast.” Sabrina laughs as the two of you walk out of the room. Before you leave the academy, you see Quentin.

“Quentin,” Sabrina says, stopping you from walking out the door without her, “what will you and the other children do now?”

“Watch over the school.” He replies. “Make sure there are no more harrowings. Even after you're gone. Thank you, Miss, for everything.”

“You're welcome.” You reply.

“Glad we could help.” Sabrina smiles.

“Who are you talking to?” Nicholas asks the two of you as he walks up behind you.

“Each other.” You both say quickly.

“It’s a twin thing, you wouldn’t understand.” You reply.

“Hello, Nicholas.” Sabrina smiles.

“Hi. You survived your immersion.”

“We did. Barely. We haven't made it to conjuring class yet, but we will.” Sabrina says with determination that makes you roll your eyes.

“About that,” Nicholas says slowly, “look, this has to be our little secret, okay?” He pulls out a book and hands it to you. “One of your dad's journals.”

“But you said-” Sabrina starts.

“I said I couldn't sneak you into the library. I didn't say I couldn't sneak this out. Maybe it'll help with the Acheron Configuration, but even if it doesn't, you should get to know your father.”

“Thank you, Nicholas. Really.”

“Yes, thank you.” You say, looking at the book with awe.

“Call me Nick.” He smiles.

“Bye,” Sabrina says quickly.

“Goodbye, Nick.” You smile to him before following Sabrina. You walk out of the academy and sit on the steps, waiting for Aunt Zelda to come.

“When do you think she’ll be here?” Sabrina asks after a few moments.

“It’s Aunt Zelda. She’ll come when she’s ready to come. The two of you begin to doze off. The last several nights without sleep have exhausted you.

“Are the two of you ready?” Aunt Zelda asks in an impatient tone, waking you both up.

“Aunt Zelda!” You smile sleepily. “You came!”

“Of course, I came. Do you think I’d leave you both here?”

“No, I’m just so glad to see you!” You smile. 

“For someone so glad to see me, you can’t remember to call.” She replies.

“I didn’t get a chance, when we got back, we barely had enough time to pack and shower before we rushed out the door to wait for you.” You defend yourself. She stares at you, her eyes burning into yours. You hug her. “Is Aunt Hilda still alive?”

“She and Ambrose are at home.” She says. “Let’s get going, I have things to tend to today. You follow her to the car. 

“Did you miss us?” You ask her as Sabrina puts your bags in the back of the car. Aunt Zelda doesn’t answer as she climbs into the drivers’ seat and you sit next to her in the passenger seat. “I’m not hearing no.” You smile, egging her on. 

“How was your first day of classes?” She asks Sabrina.

“Aside from almost dying, I think it went alright. No one signed my name in anything while I was gone, did they?” She asks. The car falls silent.

“How have you been?” You ask slowly, hoping to change the subject.

“I have been fine.” Aunt Zelda replies. The car falls silent again and you don’t bother to start another conversation. When you reach the house, Aunt Hilda is standing on the porch, ready to greet you.

“Praise Satan you’re safe! We were so worried!” Aunt Hilda squeals as she rushes off the porch and wraps the two of you in a hug. “Zelda was up pacing most of the night!” 

“We missed you too, Auntie.” Sabrina smiles. 

“Did you have a good time? Aside from almost losing your lives?”

“Sabrina met a guy.” You reply as the four of you walk into the kitchen.

“A warlock?” Aunt Zelda asks with some interest.

“Yes, but not like that. I barely know him, and I love Harvey.” Sabrina protests.

“You’ve totally got a thing for him.” You smirk.

“Do not!” 

“Do too!” You say loudly.

“Do not!” She says even louder.

“Do too!” 

“I’m so glad to have you here. Standing in my kitchen. Arguing like children.” Aunt Zelda says flatly. 

“Aunt Zelda, Y/N had a vision she wanted to talk to you and Aunt Hilda about.” Sabrina throws you under the bus.

“What kind of vision?” 

“I do not! And it wasn’t a vision. It was just a daydream.” You protest.

“What was this daydream about?” Aunt Hilda asks.

“Nothing, it was just a stupid daydream.” You say quickly. “Where’s Edward?” You ask, changing the subject.

“Probably up in your room. Why don’t you two get unpacked?” Aunt Hilda smiles. 

“I’m going to go to the study first.” You say, grabbing your bag. “I’ve missed my favorite room.” You leave the kitchen and go to the study, breathing in the familiar scent of home. You close the study door behind you and look at the picture of your father. “Did you really say that stuff to Aunt Zelda when we were born? Did you really give us to her in case something happened to you?” You ask the picture. Of course, there was no reply. You take your father’s journal out of your bag along with the configuration and begin looking at it. By the time the sun has set, you’re left no closer to solving it than you had been. But you do have a headache from the colors. You put the puzzle and book back in your bag and walk up to your room.

“Next time, for sure,” Sabrina says into the phone. “Yeah,” There’s a pause. “What?” She asks in confusion. “Oh, yeah, uh, yeah she did, yeah.” 

“Smooth recovery.” You chuckle quietly. Sabrina glares at you as you begin to thumb through your father’s journal again.

“How was your weekend?” She pauses. “Right now? I have a lot of homework to catch up on tonight, but can we walk to school tomorrow?” She pauses, looking at you. “Great. I love you, Harvey.” She hangs up the phone and takes the journal from your hands. 

“Hey! I was looking at that!” You protest.

“Now I’m looking at it.” She replies. She flips through the pages.

“Hey, that one is bent.” You point out a page that has a crease in the middle. She turns the page. “So is that one.” Sabrina folds the pages that are bent and reveals a new message. She turns the knobs on the puzzle and looks through it.

“It didn’t do anything.” She turns back to the image of your mother. She then closes her eyes and turns more knobs. They begin to click open. Suddenly, the puzzle opens, and red dust falls out of it.

“I told you there wouldn’t be any candy in it.” You say, staring at the pile of red dust. Suddenly, the lights begin to flicker. Sabrina jumps off her bed. Something rattles the door and you see a shadow under the doorframe. The door bursts open and a horrifying creature enters the room. Sabrina lets out a scream in terror, you are too frightened to scream.

“Spellmans,” the creature hisses. It looks at Sabrina and then at you. “Two Spellmans,”

“Leave!” You say, sending a blast of fire at it. It dodges, but barely. In the brief moment it is stunned, you and Sabrina bolt out of the room and run for Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda’s room.


	9. Episode 5 Part 1

You race through the house and up to Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda’s room. Sabrina screams as she throws the door open and rushes into the room with you on her heels. 

“Girls?” Aunt Zelda asks in surprise as you slam the door shut behind you, lock it, and put your weight on it. 

“Wha-What's the matter?” Aunt Hilda asks as she and Aunt Zelda jump out of bed.

“When we solved the puzzle,” Sabrina gasps.

“The Acheron Configuration,” You gasp.

“it set a demon free, and now it's loose.” You say at the same time.

“What kind of demon?” Aunt Zelda asks calmly, as though demons running rampant in the house was a normal occurrence.

“In the house?” Aunt Hilda asks in a frightened tone.

“I don't know, a demon-demon!” Sabrina says in a panic. 

“A kill us all with its claws and teeth demon!” You add.

“Calm down.” Aunt Zelda says. “If the entity came out of the Acheron Configuration, it can be put back into the Configuration. Where is it?” She asks as she claps her hands. “The puzzle box?” She snaps her fingers. You can’t help but feel like a dog when she snaps her fingers at you.

“We must've left it in our room.” Sabrina looks at you with frightened eyes.

“Spellmans.” The demon hisses as it bangs on the door. You jump and run to Aunt Zelda.

“So much for my courageous, ready to fight anything to the death sister.” Sabrina thinks to you.

“Shut up or you’ll be demon food!” You think back.

“Well, this is simply perfect.” Aunt Zelda sighs. The demon begins to claw at the door. You cringe at the noise. She walks over to another door and unlatches it. “Come on. Follow me. Quickly!” She says, starting to sound somewhat panicked, causing you to panic more. You follow her, Sabrina follows behind you, and Aunt Hilda follows behind Sabrina, closing the door behind her. “Quickly. Downstairs.”

“Sabrina, what the devil is going on?” Ambrose asks as he emerges from his room as the four of you walk into the hallway.

“Not the devil, Ambrose, a demon! In the house!” Sabrina says.

“What do you mean ‘a demon’? What kind of demon?” He asks.

“Whatever kind it is,” Aunt Zelda says, “we have protocols in place.”

“We do?” Aunt Hilda asks.

“We seal the house to contain the entity, to prevent it from escaping into the world, where it would cause rampant, wanton chaos.” Aunt Zelda replies, making sure to look at Ambrose when she says rampant, you and Sabrina when she says wanton, and Aunt Hilda when she says chaos.

“Oh, right. That's right.” Aunt Hilda whispers.

“Okay, let's do this,” Ambrose says in a panicked voice. The five of you join hands and recite a sealing spell.

“Ex spiritibus enim sie te aeris. Qui Omnipotentiam Tuam parcendo clavem ad. Ostium ligate Diabolum hunc! Hoc captionem, et daemonium ab grandus cincinno.”

“Spellmans.” The demon hisses. You all slowly look up at it. “You're his family, aren't you? My captor's kin.” Aunt Hilda moves towards Sabrina and you stand close to Aunt Zelda. “You smell like Spellmans.”

“Know this, demon. Our house is sealed with an incantation we, and only we, know. If you harm us, you'll never escape it.”

“I feel like she shouldn’t have said that to the demon.” You whisper. Aunt Zelda shoots a glare at you.

“Another prison?” The demon asks. “No, no, no!” You watch as it descends the stairs, Aunt Zelda doesn’t take her eyes off it. “Edward Spellman imprisoned me in the Acheron Puzzle for seventy years. I'll not be caged again!” The demon says in an agitated voice.

“What do you want, Hellspawn?” Ambrose asks it.

“First, revenge on the family of Edward Spellman.”

“Did you have to ask, love?” Aunt Hilda whispers quickly.

“And then, freedom, so I may fill the world with my sublime nightmares.” Suddenly, the radio buzzes to life, Dream A Little Dream of Me beings playing.

“I don't understand. Nightmares?” Sabrina asks.

“It's a sleep demon!” Aunt Hilda whispers. “Zelda, if it puts us to sleep, we're at its mercy.”

“Thank you for stating the obvious, Hilda,” Aunt Zelda replies flatly as she walks over to a box, “but not to worry. It won't get the chance to.” She pulls an urn out of the box.

“Aunt Zelda, whatever you're about to do, do it fast,” Sabrina says. Aunt Zelda holds the urn out in front of her and beings to recite a spell.

“Turpis et infernis in terris pariunt. Adiuro vos tamen hoc graecas munus.” The demon screams and you cover your ears. It turns into a cloud of red dust and flies into the urn. Aunt Zelda closes it and the sound of the lid closing on the urn rings through the house. “And that is how you trap a demon.” Aunt Zelda says proudly as she looks at the four of you.

“That was awesome! You have to teach me how to do that!” You smile, breaking the stunned silence.

“Uh, another day, love. With a less deadly demon.” Aunt Hilda says. “Let’s all have some tea.” She leads you all to the kitchen as she begins to brew the tea.

“Where did you learn to do that?” You ask Aunt Zelda.

“I learned it at the academy.” 

“Can you teach me?”

“You will learn it when you’re ready.” She replies simply.

“A nice pot of calming tea might help soothe all our nerves.” Aunt Hilda says, pouring you and Sabrina a cup of tea.

“My nerves are perfectly fine, sister.” Aunt Zelda replies as Aunt Hilda fills her cup. “Which is more than I can say for you lot. Running around like headless chickens.”

“At least this means Father Blackwood has to let us into conjuring class now, right?” Sabrina asks. “I mean, we solved the Configuration.”

“And learned a valuable lesson, I hope.” Aunt Zelda cuts in.

“Don’t open anything given to you by Father Blackwood.” You reply.

“No,” Aunt Zelda says sternly. “never open a magic box if you don't know what's inside it.”

“One thing I don't understand. Why would our father trap a demon inside of it?” Sabrina asks.

“Maybe it was fun? I do weird spells just because they’re fun. Like there’s a grave set to have fake skeleton pop out of it in about three years.” You shrug.

“That’s where my skeleton ran off to,” Ambrose replies with a slight smile.

“You will be digging that up tomorrow.” Aunt Zelda says to you.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Uh, your father suffered from terrible insomnia. He always said it was a sleep demon tormenting him.” Aunt Hilda says.

“All those years, I assumed he was speaking metaphorically, but clearly not. And clearly, he got the better of it.” Aunt Zelda says with a smile.

“Surely, he must have known the Configuration would be opened one day?” Ambrose asks.

“Or, perhaps, he never imagined that anyone would be canny enough to solve his puzzle.” Aunt Zelda says, looking at the two of you.

“Our mom was the key.” You both say.

“A sketch of her in one of Dad's journals gave me the clue to unlock it,” Sabrina says.

“Witches couldn't solve it, but a set of half-witches could. Oh, oh, that's marvelous, isn't it Zelds?” Aunt Hilda proudly asks Aunt Zelda.

“Yes, it's divine that the Sabrina and Y/N’s duality almost got us killed.” She says flatly.

“Right.” Aunt Hilda sighs. “Okay, well lets, let's finish our tea and call it a night, shall we? Have a little foxglove to help me sleep.” When everyone finishes their tea, you all go to your rooms. Aunt Hilda follows you and Sabrina into yours and begins tucking the two of you in.

“Snug as a bug in a rug.” She chuckles.

“Auntie Hilda, what would have happened if we hadn't re-trapped the demon?”

“I-I mean, we wouldn't even be aware of this, but I imagine she would've lulled us to sleep, separated us so that our dreams don't cross over, and then plagued us with horrific nightmares.” She says almost playfully.

“Wh-why?”

“Oh, so she could torture us until one of us broke ranks to unseal the house and set her free. But I don't want either of you to think of such sinister things before bed.” She says.

“Then why did you say it?” You ask her. She chuckles.

“Good night, my darlings. Dream of sweet kisses and a world full of love and joy.” She says as you drift off to sleep.

“Good morning, girls.” Your father smiles to you as he wakes you and Sabrina up.

“Morning, Father.” You smile. 

“Your mother is waiting downstairs to help you with your mortal homework,” he says to Sabrina, “and you and I are going to be working on your witch studies.” 

“Yes, Father.” You and Sabrina say. You quickly get out of bed and spin out of your pajamas and walk down to the kitchen.

“Good morning, Mom.” You smile to your mother as you walk into the kitchen and sit at the large table.

“Good morning, Starlight.” She smiles as she wraps you in a hug. She pulls a tray out of the oven. “I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast.”

“Aunt Hilda isn’t cooking?”

“Hilda only makes potions, sweetie,” Mom says as she sets the tray on the table. The kitchen fills with the aroma of cinnamon.

“Yes! Cinnamon rolls!” Father grins as he walks into the kitchen. He sits at the head of the table. Mom sits to his right.

“Good morning, everyone.” Aunt Zelda smiles happily as she walks into the kitchen. You notice something different about her as she sits to Father’s left, across from Mother. You sit next to her.

“You look happy, Auntie.” You say to her, somewhat confused. 

“Of course, I’m happy my darling girl!” She chuckles. “Why wouldn’t I be happy? I have my brother, my sister-in-law, my sister,” she nods towards the doorway as Aunt Hilda walks into the room, “Ambrose, and I have you and Sabrina!” She hugs you tightly. “I have everything I could ever want right here, how could I not be happy?”

“You just seem different today.” You smile as she kisses the top of your head. You notice she smells like perfume and flowers instead of cigarettes and alcohol. “You’re not smoking?”

“I haven’t smoked since before you and Sabrina were born. It’s a nasty, awful habit just like drinking.”

“I’m ready for school!” Sabrina smiles as she walks into the kitchen with Ambrose behind her.

“Do you have homework?” Mother asks as Sabrina sits next to her.

“No,” Sabrina smiles playfully.

“Sabrina,” Father says sternly.

“It’s not due until tomorrow.”

“We will work on it when you get home.” Mother sighs. “What sort of magical things will you two be working on today?” She asks you and Father.

“You’re doing magic today? May I join?” Ambrose asks.

“Not today, Ambrose,” Father replies. “Today I’m going to teach Y/N something extremely important and I don’t think you’re quite ready to learn it.”

“Yes, Uncle,” Ambrose replies somewhat sadly. The seven of you eat breakfast as a large, happy family.

“You’re a wonderful cook, Diana.” Aunt Zelda smiles.

“Thank-you, Zelda.” Mother replies. “What do you think, Edward, Y/N?”

“They’re amazing.” You and Father say, both of your mouths full.

“We’d better hurry to practice. I want to see how quickly you get this new spell.” Father says after he swallows what is in his mouth. You nod in reply and quickly finish your breakfast.

“Be careful with my elder brother!” Aunt Zelda calls to you as you and Father go to the study. “He’s old and weaker than you!” She cackles.

“Zelda, that’s not nice!” Aunt Hilda laughs. 

“She’s right, though!” Mother calls.

“I may be older in human years, but in witch years I’m actually younger than your mother.” He playfully says to you as he enters the study. Where his portrait used to be is a picture of you, Sabrina, Father, and Mother. The whole room is decorated with pictures of you and Sabrina as you grew up.

“What are we learning today? How to summon demons? How to properly call upon the Dark Lord? How to heal yourself?” You ask excitedly.

“We’re going to learn how to use elemental magic to cause trouble.” He laughs.

“But I already know elemental magic.” You reply in confusion.

“You’re a very powerful child, Y/N. But you have to learn to control that power. I want you to be able to cast a fire spell weak enough to heat something that burns someone but not enough to blister. To get someone wet, not drown them or knock them down, to shock them, not fry them.”

“How do I do that?” You ask. “And why would I need to know how to do that?”

“Magic involves a lot of control. Control of your body, control of your mind, control of your spirit. When you learn control, the magic available to use becomes so much broader.” He says seriously. A smile spreads across his face. “Plus, it’s a lot of fun to play pranks on your aunties, especially your Aunt Zelda.” He takes a piece of paper from his desk. “I want you to singe the edges of this paper. Don’t burn it to nothing, just singe it.” You concentrate on the paper and with a shaking hand, you reach out for the paper and touch it. It bursts into flames. Father drops it and before it hits the ground, it disintegrates into ash. You stare at the ash for a moment. “It’s okay, let’s try again.” He says, taking out another piece of paper. You continue to work on not destroying paper with fire. You’re caught off guard when you hear yelling and banging outside the study.

“What’s going on?” You ask as Father rushes out of the study. You follow behind him. 

“Edward, they’re here.” Aunt Zelda says when the two of you reach the kitchen. Everyone is gathered around 

“I’m so sorry, Dad,” Sabrina whispers.

“What happened, darling?” He asks her.

“I told Harvey about us. I, I didn’t expect it to be like this.” Sabrina sobs.

“We need to leave, now.” Aunt Zelda says, fear in her voice. 

“Where are we going?” You and Sabrina ask at the same time.

“Anywhere, just get away from the house,” Father says. 

“But what if we get lost?” You ask.

“Y/N, look at me,” Father says, grabbing you by the shoulders. “Whatever happens, protect your sister. Hilda and Zelda can protect themselves and Ambrose. I can protect your mother. You and Sabrina need to protect each other.”

“Y-yes, Father.” You say, fear creeping up your spine. 

“Don’t worry, darling. It’ll be alright.” He says. “Now go, we’ll meet at the Church of Night when we lose the angry mob.” You nod as you grab Sabrina’s hand and walk towards the back door. “Y/N,” he calls to you, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Father.” You reply.

“Be careful, Starlight.” Mother says.

“Stay safe.” Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda say in unison.

“You too.” You and Sabrina say before you all rush out of the house.

“Remember, no matter what, don’t stop. Just keep going.” Father reminds all of you before you all split into different directions. You and Sabrina run as fast as you can through the woods. You run until your legs can’t carry you any farther. You can only hear your heart beating in your ears.

“Wolf,” you gasp, ‘we need to turn into wolves.”

“I can’t do that!” Sabrina whispers.

“You have to try.” You reply. “Just think wolf.” You say, changing yourself into a wolf. Sabrina tries to concentrate and manages to turn into a wolf. “Now stay close to me. We won’t go too deep into the woods; we have to stay close enough that we can see the witch hunters but far enough away that we aren’t noticed by them.” You think to her. The two of you hide in the woods, watching the witch hunters as they search for you and your family. A few hours go by and they still haven’t given up.

“I can’t hold the spell.” Sabrina thinks to you.

“You have to, it’s too dangerous not to.” You think back.

“I can’t do it!” You look at her and watch her transform back into a human.

“I see one of the witches!” Someone yells seconds later.

“Run!” You say, turning into a human and running next to Sabrina.

“Stop the witches!” Someone else yells. You hear a blast and feel something hit your back. You fall to the ground as pain erupts throughout your body.

“I got one!”

“Run, Sabrina!” You say. But she doesn’t. 

“Stay back!” She yells, standing over you.

“Run you, idiot!” You say to her. 

“Get the witches!” Before you know it, you and Sabrina are being taken somewhere. You aren’t sure where. You’re tossed into a damp and dark place, almost like a basement.

“Girls!” Father says.

“Are you two alright?” Aunt Zelda asks as she helps you to your feet. You lean against her, trying to hide your pain. “You’ve been shot!” She says, laying you back down.

“Are you okay?” Father asks Sabrina.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She says.

“It’s time for you all to die.” A man says. Two other men walk into the room and take Mother and Father away.

“Protect the twins!” Father calls to Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda. 

“Hilda, we have to get them out of here.” Aunt Zelda says. She and Aunt Hilda join hands, forming a circle around you and Sabrina and begin chanting.

“They’re casting spells!” Someone yells. There’s a loud bang and Aunt Zelda is on the ground, blood pouring from a wound that entered her back and exited through her chest.

“Aunt Zelda!” You yell as you crawl to her, ignoring your own pain. You hold her head up. A man enters the cell and drags her and Aunt Hilda just out of your reach. You can’t see them, but you can hear them. You hear them being beaten and tortured. You hear their clothes being ripped off them and their skin being beaten. You hear their cries of pain and agony.

“Tell me the spell that unlocks this house and I’ll save you and your family.” A voice says from behind you. You turn around to see the demon, looking at you, a smile on its face. “My sweet, if you release me, I will return the favor tenfold and release you and your family.” The demon says sweetly.

“Aunt Zelda!” You yell. You stare at the demon as it looks at you calmly. You close your eyes and cover your ears, hoping the demon would go away. “It’s a dream.” You say to yourself. “It has to be.” You open your eyes to see the demon has vanished, but you can still hear your aunts being beaten. 

“It’s your turn now, witch.” A man says as she grabs you and drags you out of the cell. You can still only see darkness. You jump as you feel hands on your body, taking off your clothes. You feel something touching your skin, like the night you were examined for a witch’s mark.

“See if she has the mark of a witch.” The man says. You feel multiple hands on you. How can they look for a mark if it’s so dark? You hear Aunt Hilda cry out in pain.

“Y/N?” You hear a familiar voice say.

“Ms. Wardwell?” You yelp in the darkness.

“I need you to calm down. You're dreaming right now.”

“I-I don’t understand.” You whisper.

“Y/N, listen to me. We don't have much time before Batibat realizes I've been trolling her domain.”

“Who?”

“Batibat. She's a sleep demon. She manipulates her victims in their dreams. She's torturing you, all of you, until one of you tells her the spell to unlock the house or you all go insane. I'm gonna wake you up.” Ms. Wardwell says “And once I wake you up, you must get out of the house. Take Sabrina and run. Run as fast as your legs will carry you. It's your only chance of survival.”

“If Sabrina and I escape, what will happen to Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda?” You ask.

“Self-preservation, my dear, it's the only thing that matters.”

“No, I can’t leave my aunts behind.” You reply. “I’ll get Sabrina out, but I have to go back for my family.” Ms. Wardwell sighs.

“I'm gonna wake you up now. You shall feel a prick. Remember my words. You and Sabrina get out of the house. Don't fall asleep. You'll only have one chance to escape her. You wake up screaming. You quickly cover your mouth with your hand and look at Sabrina, who is also screaming. You stare at each other for a moment. 

“Batibat,” Sabrina says to you. “Hurry, we have to hide!” She says to you. The two of you quickly shove pillows under the blankets of your beds and crawl under your beds. You hold your breath as the demon enters the room. You hear Batibat take the blankets off both your beds.

“Where did you go, little girls?” Batibat hisses. When she leaves, the two of you crawl out. Sabrina is holding the puzzle in her hands.

“We have to stop her from hurting Aunt Hilda or Aunt Zelda.” You whisper.

“Or Ambrose.”

“He’s collateral damage. Save the aunties first.” You insist. “And the demon’s got her work cut out for her if she thinks she can drive Aunt Zelda insane. I mean she lives with you and me.” You mumble.

“As true as that is, we don’t have time for sarcasm!” Sabrina says. “Let’s go!” The two of you quickly leave your room. “I’ll get Ambrose, you get Aunt Zelda and Aunt Hilda. She’ll be less vile if you’re the one that wakes her up.” You nod in response as you rush to Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda’s room.

“Aunt Zelda!” You whisper as you quietly close the bedroom door behind you. “Auntie! Zelda!” You say a little louder as you try to shake her awake. “Aunt Zelda, please wake up! It’s an emergency!” You look at the metronome at the foot of her bed, the ticking annoys you. You go to stop it, but it zaps you. “Ouch!” You complain, jerking your hand back. “This isn’t working!” You say as you rush downstairs to find Sabrina.

“Any luck?” She asks.

“No, what about you?” 

“No, but I found a book. Maybe we can banish her.”

“We can try.” You reply. The two of you walk into the parlor where Batibat is looking for you.

“Looking for us?” You say at the same time. You and Sabrina are holding hands. In her free hand, Sabrina holds the book and you hold the puzzle in your free hand. “We banish thee, Batibat.” You both begin to read from the book. "Tu me misisti, et contentions sint causa doloris mei."

“That's but a plaything in your inexperienced hands.” The demon growls. “You're not half the witches your father was. No witch at all. No power, no conviction, no will. And with three other Spellmans in my thrall, you, children, may die.” The demon swipes at both of you. Sabrina drops the book and you drop the puzzle. It shatters into pieces at it hits the floor. You both raise your arms to react but Batibat claws both of you before you can do anything. You and Sabrina both scream in pain as you hold your injured arms. Salem meows, distracting the demon.

“Open Sesame,” Sabrina says quickly as she drags you into a hidden passage.

“Spellman.” Batibat hisses as the two of you run away. She leads you to Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda’s room.

“Aunt Zelda, wake up!” Sabrina whispers, shaking Aunt Zelda. 

“She won’t wake up, I’ve already tried.” You whisper, holding your injured arm as blood seeps through your fingers.

“Aunties, please, we can't do this on our own!”

“We need your help!” You add. Salem meows.

“Salem! Salem, where did you leave Batibat? Still downstairs?” Sabrina asks. She gets a meow in reply. “I-I don't know, Salem, we need help, we need-” She looks at you. “Wait, we can go back.”

“Go back?” You ask as Salem meows.

“Yes, I know Ms. Wardwell said not to go back to sleep, but if we were quick enough and focused enough to lucid dream, we could go and come right back.” Salem meows.

“I can’t understand the cat, but whatever he says I agree.” You say.

“Well, for starters, I'd have to put myself to sleep,” Sabrina says to the cat. “We have to get foxglove from downstairs. We can set a time to wake us up.”

“This is a bad idea. A very bad idea.” You reply.

“What other options do we have that don’t involve our family being killed?” You sigh as you follow Sabrina.

“Where did you go?” Batibat hisses as the two of you walk down the stairs. “You cannot escape me.”

“I know it's here somewhere. Aunt Hilda uses it when she can't sleep. Where is it?” Sabrina says to herself as the two of you scan the shelf. “Foxglove! Got it.” She grabs the bottle and Salem meows at the two of you as you sit on a table. “Of course. I know, too much will kill us. So, we’ll just take the right amount.” Sabina says.

“You don’t know the right amount, do you?” You ask.

“We’ll play it by ear.”

“You play everything by ear!”

“Here, kitty, kitty” Batibat’s voice echoes through the house. “Naughty, naughty girls. Where are you?”

“We need to hide.” You say. Salem meows.

“Where are we hiding? Well, it's risky, but in plain sight, and we’re gonna need your help, Salem.” Sabrina says with determination. “I need you to put a glamor on Salem. Make sure Batibat falls for it and then join me downstairs.

“Are you insane?” You hiss. 

“We don’t have any other options!”

“Story of our lives.” You mumble. Sabrina rushes downstairs with the foxglove and you put a glamor on Salem. “Get Batibat somewhere, just keep her away from Sabrina and I. And if you find that lazy familiar of mine, get him for not helping us!” You add. You follow Salem into the parlor. You stand in front of a mirror, hoping to look like a reflection when Batibat enters the room.

“Naughty girl, you should be in bed. Where is your twin?” You hold your breath as Batibat looks at Salem. He turns and runs away from the demon. “Oh, you can run, but you cannot escape me,” Batibat says as she chases after Salem. You quickly go to Sabrina.

"A gin-clear mind, self-induced sleep, and clear intent," Sabrina whispers to you. “That’s how we’ll save our family.” You nod in reply. “Here goes.” She places a drop of foxglove on her tongue and hands you the dropper. You do the same. “Two minutes exactly.” She sets a timer. The two of you lie down on the table. You pray you’ll wake up.


	10. Episode 5 Part 2

You open your eyes to see you’re downstairs. 

“Aunt Zelda!” Sabrina says as she falls to the floor. You pause to see Aunt Zelda, strong, indestructible, Aunt Zelda sitting on the floor, mad with grief.

“Sabrina! Y/N!” She cries out to the two of you. You begin to shake, unsure of what to do or how to respond to the strongest person you know being beside herself with grief. You get on the floor and look her in the eye. “I was always so cruel to her!” She sobs. “Now she's gone.”

“Who's gone?” Sabrina asks. You brush a stray lock of hair out of Aunt Zelda’s face. You and Sabrina look in the corner of the room to see Aunt Hilda. Your stomach lurches at the sight of maggots crawling on her skin.

“I killed her. And now, she's never coming back.” She chokes out. You hold her hand, unsure of what to do.

“Aunt Zelda, you're in a nightmare. None of this is real. Hilda is alive and sleeping next to you, I promise. But I don't have much time and I need your help. There's a sleep demon in our house. She's the one who put you in this nightmare, and I need you to tell me how to defeat her.”

“My only sister,” She chokes, her voice breaking out of heartbreak and not extreme anger like usual, “and I treated her like hell-rot.” She crawls across the floor like a child towards Aunt Hilda’s corpse.

“Aunt Hilda,” Sabrina says to herself. I'm sorry, Aunt Zee, we have to leave you. But this will all be over soon.”

“I’ll catch up with you,” You say to Sabrina.

“Be careful.” She replies before vanishing.

“Aunt Zelda.” You say forcefully. “Aunt Zelda, look at me.” She looks up at you.

“Just keep breathing. Everything will be okay.” You say, touching your forehead to hers. She touches your cheek as you disappear.

“Aunt Hilda! What has she done to you?” Sabrina exclaims as you look at Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda, conjoined at the hip, on the floor.

“Girls, you have to cut me free!” Aunt Hilda gasps.

“Aunt Hilda, this is a dream. The sleep demon, this is her doing, she's torturing you.” Sabrina says quickly.

“Sleep demon?”

“Yes. Batibat, and we have about thirty seconds before we wake up.” Sabrina says.

“Do you know what we can do to stop her?” You ask her.

“A demon? Uh Uh She's the embodiment of nightmares, isn't she, Batibat? Girls, you have to be clever, you have to trap her.”

“How? Can you tell us?”

“I can't,” she groans, “uh, yes, girls, what is a nightmare, but a dream gone bad? A dream gone sour? You have to trap a nightmare the same way you trap a dream. Ooh, my familiars can help!”

“Your spiders?” Sabrina asks.

“Of course.” You say, eyes lighting up.

“Don't leave me with her!” Aunt Hilda complains as Sabrina vanishes.

“Y/N!” She calls to you.

“Aunt Hilda, calm down. It will be okay.” You say gently. “Just try to relax, it’ll be over before you know it.” You reply as you help the two of them up and sit them on the couch before you vanish. 

“Ambrose!” Sabrina says.

“Cousins?” Two Ambroses ask.

“Oh, for Satan’s sake why are there two of them now?” You groan.

“There's a sleep demon named Batibat on the loose in the house,” Sabrina says quickly.

“You're dreaming this.” You say.

“I am?” The two Ambroses say.

“Yes, but we have a plan and you're gonna help us.”

“Tell me what to do.” They say. “Shut up, you.” They say to each other.

“Now I’m starting to understand the headache Aunt Zelda gets when we argue.” You say to Sabrina.

“Distract her. Keep her occupied.” 

“The sleep demon?” They ask.

“No, Aunt Zelda.” You reply sarcastically. “Yes, the damn demon!” You say just before the timer goes off and wakes the two of you up. The two of you quickly get Aunt Hilda’s spiders and wait in the parlor for the demon to find you.

“Spellmans.” You hear the demon growl. “Where are you? Here, little girls.” You stare at the demon and wait on her to notice you as she enters the room. “Oh, Sabrina, Y/N.” She says when she notices the two of you. “Oh, children. This little game has come to an end.” She notices the spiders by the entryway. “You think those spiders can save you?” She points at the cage. “Not even the Dark Lord can save you.” You and Sabrina pull a string out from behind your backs. You make the same movements, working as one body with your strings as you recite the same incantation Aunt Zelda used.

“Turpis et infernis in terris pariunt. Et furantur verba haec locutus sum vobis Laetitia.” You both chant. The demon lets out a screech. “Punctum baculus parit malediction. Adiuro vos tamen hoc graecas munus.” The spiders spin a web around the demon, trapping her in place.

“Dream catchers don't trap dreams, Batibat,” Sabrina says. “They trap nightmares.” 

“Sometimes the oldest, simplest magic works best.” You say with a smile. You stare at the trapped demon.

“Girls!” You hear Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda yell followed by the thudding of their footsteps as the rush out of their room.

“Aunt Zelda! Aunt Hilda!” You both yell. You rush towards Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda’s room. Aunt Zelda grabs your arms to prevent you from running into her. You yelp and pull your injured arm away. Aunt Zelda’s face fills with worry when she looks at the blood on her hand.

“What happened?” She asks you. 

“Are you alright, loves?”

“We got scratched by the demon,” Sabrina says.

“It’s nothing we can’t handle.” You reply.

“Let’s get the two of you patched up.” Aunt Hilda says, examining Sabrina’s arm. You, Sabrina, and Aunt Hilda go into the kitchen.

“I’ll take care of the demon. We can’t have it blocking our entryway.” Aunt Zelda says. She enters the kitchen moments later with a jar. “It doesn’t go with the décor.” She makes sure to add.

“Your spiders worked, Aunt Hilda,” Sabrina says.

“I’m glad they did, lamb. But let’s not worry about that right now. Let’s focus on patching the two of you up.” She says.

“Not as intricate as an Acheron Configuration, but a jam jar will do just as well.” Aunt Zelda says moments later as she tightens the lid on the jar.

“How does it feel now?” Aunt Hilda asks as she bandages Sabrina’s arm.

“Better, Auntie Hilda,” Sabrina says in relief.

“You don’t feel the pain until after the event because of adrenaline. It keeps you from feeling pain, now that the excitement is over and the demon is dealt with, we’ll start to feel it.” You whisper to her.

“That doesn’t help.” She hisses. Aunt Zelda clears her throat.

“I, um I owe you both an apology, girls.” Aunt Zelda sighs. “When you came to me, in my dream, I was lily-livered. Hysterical. Cowardly.”

“Only in the dream, Aunt Zelda. Only in that terrible dream.” Sabrina says to her.

“So, you two walked through all of our dreams, then?” Aunt Hilda asks in embarrassment.

“We did.” You say at the same time.

“But I can barely remember it, it's all so fuzzy.” Sabrina lies. “So fuzzy.” Relief comes across Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda’s faces. “I’m going to call Harvey,” Sabrina says before leaving the room, leaving you alone with Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda.

“Let’s take a look at your arm now, love.” Aunt Hilda says. “Oooh, looks like Batibat got you with her dominant hand. You got it worse than Sabrina did, but not much worse.” Aunt Hilda grimaces.

“I’ll take care of it, Hilda, you go on to bed.” Aunt Zelda says.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, I’m sure. I can bandage an arm just as well as you can.” She replies.

“Alright,” Aunt Hilda replies as she lets go of you. “Goodnight my love. And thank you.” She kisses your head before leaving. Aunt Zelda quietly looks at your arm until Aunt Hilda is out of listening range.

“Do you remember our dreams? Tell me the truth, I know when you’re not.” She says sternly.

“Y-yes, Auntie.” You say quietly, avoiding her gaze. You hiss in pain as she applies antiseptic to your wound. 

“I’m sorry you saw me in such a horrible state.” She replies as she dabs at the dried and still wet blood with a cloth. “I can only imagine how that has damaged your image of me.”

“You’re still the strongest witch I know.” You say, looking into her eyes. She doesn’t reply. “Honest, Aunt Zelda. It takes a really strong person to take in a felon like Ambrose. It takes a strong person to continue living when their elder brother, who they adored, dies along with his wife. It takes a really strong person to raise their bother’s troublesome and super dramatic twin daughters. It takes a person stronger than any other living thing to do all of it at once. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost Sabrina and had to raise her kids. I don’t know if I could do that. But you did do it, you are doing it.” You say.

“Thank you, Y/N.” She says as she wraps a bandage around your arm.

“It’s okay to not act strong all the time, Auntie. You’re doing a lot, and you didn’t have to do any of it. It’s okay to let people in and share your burdens with others.” She cuts and tires the bandage.

“When did you get so wise?” She laughs slightly.

“When I started looking up to my Aunt Zelda.” You reply. She smiles at you.

“Get some rest. Your arm will be fine.” She says as she stands up and begins to put the medicines and bandages away. 

“Yes, auntie.” You reply. You quietly go up to your room as Sabrina is hanging up the phone. You lie in bed.

“I’m going to Ms. Wardwell’s house,” Sabrina says.

“Why?”

“She appeared to us in our dreams,” Sabrina says.

“A mortal couldn’t do that.” You reply.

“Stay here and cover for me,” Sabrina says. 

“No, I’m going with. We’ll teleport. It’ll be faster.” You say, grabbing your hand. You focus and close your eyes. When you open them, you’re standing outside Ms. Wardwell’s house. The two of you walk up to the door and Sabrina knocks on it. You hear locks unlocking and Ms. Wardwell opens the door.

“Sabrina. Y/N.” She says. “Why, it's the middle of the night. What can I do for the two of you?”

“You can start by telling us the truth.” You say.

“The truth about who and what you are,” Sabrina adds.

“You'd better sit down, then.” She sighs, opening the door wider for the two of you to enter.


	11. Episode 6 Part 1

“Can I get you something?” Ms. Wardwell says as she closes the door. “Some, uh,” she stalls before walking past the two of you and picking up a tray from the table behind you, “yummy almond-”

“We don't want a snack, Ms. Wardwell.” Sabrina interrupts. “We want answers.” She sits down but you remain standing. 

“Yes, of course.” Ms. Wardwell says slowly as she sets the tray down. “Um, you asked me what I am, but you know. I believe you've known for a while.”

“You're a-”

“A witch, yes.”

“All this time you've been lying to me?” Sabrina asks.

“That actually explains a lot, actually.” You say more to yourself than anyone.

“Protecting you.” Ms. Wardwell says quickly as she sits down. “Trying to. Watching you from afar.”

“Watching us, how?” Sabrina asks.

“I used a, a scrying spell. On your mirrors. It's how I knew you were at the mercy of the Batibat.”

“You've been spying on us? And our family? Why?”

“No, sister,” you interrupt, “I think it's best she answers these questions in front of the High Priest.” Sabrina stands and the two of you walk towards the front door.

“Girls, please,” Ms. Wardwell says quickly as she stands and follows you, “it was Edward that asked me to look after you.” The two of you pause and slowly turn to face her.

“What do you know about our father?” Sabrina asks.

“I,” she pauses, “I was his acolyte. His student, then his secretary.” 

“When he was High Priest of the Church of Night?”

“Yes.” She says slowly. “Please.” She motions for the two of you to follow her to the fireplace. You follow her and sit down as she does the same. “I, um, I sought him out. I had been excommunicated from my own coven the Church of Shadows, in New Hampshire. I'd fallen in love with a mortal, you see, and was engaged to be married.” She laughs. “Foolish, but there I was, a witch without a coven.” She sighs. “With no one to understand my plight. No one, that is, except,” You notice that she doesn’t look at either of you when she speaks.

“Our father,” Sabrina whispers. Ms. Wardwell stands.

“I showed up on his doorstep, eager to apprentice with him.” She says as she walks to the fireplace and places a hand on it. It is as though the memories make her unsteady. “Edward Spellman, who wanted to reform the Church of Night, change its laws so that witches and mortals could marry without stigma. He and your mother would be pioneers.”

“But then they died. Their plane crashed.” 

“An accidental crash.” You say. “Or so we’ve been told.” You add, staring at her. Ms. Wardwell sits down again.

“Before that ill-fated trip, Edward charged me with keeping an eye on you,” she says with a smile, “his only daughter.” She then looks at you. “Or so I thought. Edward didn’t tell me he had twins.” 

“Maybe it was for your own safety.” You reply. “I bite.” Sabrina rolls her eyes. “I bet Father only told her there was one instead of two in case she turned on him. The first thing I’d go after is the easy target of a child. If I didn’t know there was two, how could I kill both of them?” You think to Sabrina.

“That’s a little dark.” She thinks back.

“But logical. Father was a logical man. Everyone knew he had a child, but at the time how many people outside of the Spellman family truly knew that there was two of us?”

“Is that why you were encouraging me to transfer,” Sabrina asks Ms. Wardwell and ignores you, “because you knew what I was talking about all along? Going to the academy? Getting baptized?” Sabrina asks.

“Yes. Precisely.”

“I’m calling bullshit.” You say. “We were entrusted to our aunts when our parents died. Why would he need someone else to care for us? Aunt Zelda alone would literally burn the town to the ground without hesitation if something happened to us.”

“Your father, he was cautious, overly cautious. Especially when it came to you, the apple of his eye.” She looks at you again. “I suppose he was so cautious, he only told me about one of you in case something happened to me. I was to be an invisible, but omnipresent circle of protection around you.”

“Why would you agree to that?”

“I had fallen in love with him, you see.” You look at Sabrina to see what you should be feeling. “Forgive me, Sabrina. Please.” Ms. Wardwell says.

“You're just like him, Ms. Wardwell.” Sabrina stands and you do the same. “Keeping secrets from me, manipulating me. Consider your obligation to the Spellman family done. From now on, stay away from us.” Sabrina spits as she leaves the house, dragging you behind her. She slams Ms. Wardwell’s door closed.

“Should I teleport us home?” You ask.

“No, I want to walk. You can teleport if you want.” She sighs.

“Okay. I’ll see you at home then.”

“Yeah,” She replies, deep in thought. You can tell she wants to be alone. You teleport into your room and lie on your bed in the darkness, waiting for her to return. The only light in the room is the light from the hallway spilling in from under the door. You hear Aunt Zelda walk past your room, turning off the lights as she does so and plunging you into deeper darkness. As you stare into the darkness, you feel fear wash over you.

“What if this is still a dream?” You say to yourself, the darkness making you anxious. You climb out of bed and leave your room. You stare into the darkened hallway. You can’t see, but you know the house well enough to know where things are placed. Something screeches behind you. You quickly rush back to your room and leap into your bed, covering yourself with the blankets. You hear the clacking of tiny claws following behind you followed by the flutter of wings. Edward picks at the blanket you threw over your head. You glare at him. “Where were you while the demon was running loose?” You hiss. He tilts his head at you before letting out a ‘none of your business’ squawk. You wait in the darkness for Sabrina’s return. An hour or so later, you hear clawing at the window in your room. You hold your breath as you wait to see what enters the room. Sabrina climbs into your room. 

“I wish you’d learn to teleport.” You say to her nervously. 

“I wish you’d learn to be social.” She replies flatly. You slowly climb out of your bed. “Where are you going?” Sabrina asks.

“To Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda’s room.”

“Why?”

“I am not brave like you.” You reply. “I am going to the safest place in the house and that so happens to be whatever room Aunt Zelda is in.” You walk towards Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda’s room. You stand in the darkness outside their door for a moment. You jump when you hear the house creak. You knock softly on the door and wait for an answer. You feel like a small child who just woke up from a nightmare again.

“Come in.” Aunt Zelda’s voice says. It’s still somewhat shaky from the night you’ve all had. You slowly open the door and quietly step into the room. Aunt Hilda is already asleep, a romance novel on her chest. Aunt Zelda looks at you, sighs, places a bookmark in the Dark Lord’s scriptures, closes the book, and sets it next to her bed. You stand in the middle of the room, trying to make yourself as small as possible. “What is it?” She asks.

“I-I…” You trail off.

“Speak your mind.” Aunt Zelda says somewhat harshly. 

“What if we’re still dreaming?” You ask quickly. Aunt Zelda gets out of bed.

“We aren’t.” She says sternly as she walks towards you.

“But what if we are? That’s how it started, we didn’t know we were dreaming, and we went to bed and then we had nightmares we couldn’t escape from.” You rush up to Aunt Zelda and wrap your arms around her like when you were a child.

“Lucifer help me.” You hear Aunt Zelda whisper with some fondness as she holds you.

“I don’t want any of us to go through that again.” You whimper as she leads you to her bed. The two of you sit down.

“They were just dreams.”

“But it was too real.” You reply. You went silent as you held onto Aunt Zelda tighter. “I dreamed that we were all together, you, Aunt Hilda, Father, Mother, Ambrose, Sabrina, and I. And we were happy. You were happy. But then witch hunters came and separated us and you and Aunt Hilda tried to save Sabrina and I but they stopped you and were torturing you and we couldn’t do anything about it.”

“We all saw and experienced horrible things tonight. But they weren’t real. Hilda is right there, I’m right here, Ambrose is downstairs, and Sabrina is in your room.” 

“I’m right here,” Sabrina says, walking into the room. She has tears running down her face as she joins you and Aunt Zelda on the bed. You can tell they’re fake tears, but Aunt Zelda can’t.

“Girls, this is ridiculous.” 

“Auntie Zelda, we saw horrible things in our dreams. Aren’t you scared?” Sabrina asks as she intertwines her hands with yours, locking Aunt Zelda between the two of you. Aunt Zelda is silent, but you can feel her grip on you tighten.

“She’d be lost without you two, especially you, Y/N. You’re like a little Zelda.” Aunt Hilda says sleepily with a little laugh as she sits up sleepily. “Dream or not, something happening to one or both of you would just about break her. She won’t admit it, but you girls are her life. She’s always loved Y/N following her around and imitating her.” She laughs a bit until Aunt Zelda glares at her. You have a feeling that Aunt Hilda will once again be climbing out of her grave sometime tomorrow. “Come here, Sabrina. You can sleep with me tonight and Y/N can sleep with Zelda. That’s how we’ve always done it, even when you were small.” Sabrina lets go of your hand and crawls into bed with Aunt Hilda.

“We’d be lost without you too, Aunt Zelda.” You say as the two of you crawl under her covers. 

“Go to sleep.” She says as she turns off the light. But even in the darkness you can see a slight smile on her face.

“So,” you think to Sabrina, disrupting the silence, “Aunt Hilda fears being with Aunt Zelda her whole life and Aunt Zelda fears life without Aunt Hilda.”

“Yeah.” She thinks back.

“I don’t see this going well.”

“Me either.”

“Do you think we’ll be like that someday?” You both ask each other at the same time.

“We’re twins, we’ve been together literally all our lives,” Sabrina says.

“I know, but we’re also so different. You have mortal friends and a mortal boyfriend, and I try to stay away from mortals. You go to public school and I’m homeschooled.”

“And you’re willing to be baptized,” Sabrina says. 

“I’m not sure if I am.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Dark Lord didn’t hesitate to separate us. He didn’t hesitate to use the threat of taking me away from my family and I don’t know if I can worship and dedicate my life to someone who can do something like that so easily.”

“Would you still be baptized?”

“I think I would, but not because the Dark Lord wants me to.”

“Why would you be baptized?” Sabrina asks.

“I want to make Aunt Zelda proud. She’s always adored the coven and she’s always wanted us to follow her example. I always thought that maybe if I was baptized, she’d be proud of me even for a moment.”

“But she is proud of you. She always looks at you like you’re a miracle.” You’re silent for a moment. 

“I wonder if she only does that to put on a show and to not make us feel bad.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sister, we’re nothing more than weak half breeds, strays, mutts. We aren’t something to be proud of, not to a powerful full witch like Aunt Zelda. We’re disgraces to our races and our religion and our coven. I always thought that maybe if I was baptized, she’d be proud of that, proud that despite what I am, I still try to bring some kind of honor to the family.”

“Why would you do something as big as signing the Dark Lord’s Book? The book of someone who tried to take you away?” She presses.

“Sabrina, sometimes in life, you have to do things you don’t want to do to make those you love happy. Aunt Zelda didn’t want to witness Father signing your name in the Dark Lord’s book, she did it to protect you and make Father happy. She didn’t want you to go to mortal school, but she let you go to make you and Aunt Hilda happy. She didn’t want you to have Salem, but she let you keep him in her house to make you happy. Do you see a pattern? She does so much to make everyone around her happy. When does she do something just because she wants to do it?”

“I could ask the same of you,” Sabrina replies before the two of you drift off to sleep. You wake up the next morning and stare at the ceiling, thinking about what Sabrina said the night before. Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda are already awake and off doing whatever they usually do. Sabrina is still asleep in Aunt Hilda’s bed.

“Y/N, I see you’re awake.” Aunt Zelda says as she walks into her room. 

“Yes, ma’am.” You reply as you sit up sleepily.

“Would you like to come with me today?”

“Where are you going?” You ask.

“After I change your bandages, I’m going to the academy to check on Lady Blackwood and her baby. You’ll be in school before lunch if all goes well.”

“Doesn’t that break the rules of the court hearing?”

“The court just said you had to go to school with Sabrina,” she smiles, “they never said you had to be there the whole time she’s there.”

“I’d love to miss a few mortal classes.” You smile. She smiles proudly as she tilts her head up.

“Good,” her eyes light up as she speaks, ‘get ready and we’ll change your bandages and leave.” You quickly get out of bed and spin into a new outfit. You follow Aunt Zelda downstairs and sit next to her as she examines your arm, cleans it up, and places a new bandage on it. Aunt Hilda watches the two of you out of the corner of her eye as she stirs a pot on the stove.

“Why did you choose to be a midwife?” You ask her as she finishes wrapping up your arm.

“Spellman women have done it for generations.”

“Did you want to be a midwife?” You ask curiously.

“If I didn’t want to be a midwife, why would I have been one for hundreds of years?” She asks as she begins to pack her medical bag. You watch her place different instruments in the bag fondly.

“Do I have to become a midwife?” 

“Only if you want to.” Aunt Hilda says.

“It’s tradition, Y/N.” Aunt Zelda says at the same time as Aunt Hilda. She then glares at her younger sister. “But lately, tradition has been thrown out of the window with the decisions your father and sister are making.” She adds gruffly as she closes her bag. 

“Are we teleporting to the academy?” You ask, changing the subject.

“Of course. It’s faster.” Aunt Zelda says as she proudly places an arm around your shoulder and holds her bag in her other hand. The two of you teleport to the academy. You look around the room, it is dark and dirty looking, like the bathroom of an abandoned asylum.

“Are we in the right place?” You ask.

“Do you doubt me?”

“No, I doubt the level of sanitation in this room.” You say, looking at the dirty walls.

“Sister, I see you have brought your niece.” Father Blackwood says as he enters the room with Lady Blackwood walking behind him. He looks at you for a moment. “Which one are you?” He finally asks. “And why are you here?”

“I’m Y/N, sir. The younger twin. I’m here to learn the trade that Spellman women have done for generations.” You say properly. Aunt Zelda smiles proudly at your words.

“You’re teaching the next generation?” He asks Aunt Zelda.

“Of course, Father Blackwood. It isn’t every day we get to observe the pregnancy of a true lady.” She smiles.

“Very well.” He says. Aunt Zelda nods and opens her bag.

“Lie down on the table, please.” She says to Lady Blackwood. She does as she asked. Aunt Zelda helps her adjust her clothes and drapes a blanket over her waist. “Are you ready?”

“Yes, sister.” Lady Blackwood says. Aunt Zelda pulls a tool out of her bag.

“We use this to listen for a heartbeat.” Aunt Zelda says to you. You nod in reply. She places it on Lady Blackwood’s stomach and listens to it.

“What do you hear?” Father Blackwood asks after a moment of silence. Aunt Zelda doesn’t answer. “Sister?” Aunt Zelda rolls her eyes.

“Listen to this.” Aunt Zelda smiles to you. You place your ear against the tool she’s holding. You hear something faint, but you aren’t sure what.

“What is it?” Father Blackwood asks again, a little more agitated.

“Do you hear that fluttering?” She asks you.

“Yes, ma’am.” You reply.

“That’s the heartbeat.”

“Praise Satan.” He sighs. “How long before we can determine its sex?”

“It's still a bit too early in Lady Blackwood's gestation, but I'll collect a urine sample and see what we can find out.” Aunt Zelda says.

“What about blood pressure? Earlier today, she felt faint.”

“Perhaps you could give us ladies space, so we might conduct this examination more efficiently?” Aunt Zelda suggests.

“It's fine, Faustus. Take some air.” Lady Blackwood says to him.

“Very well. I'll be outside.” He says gruffly before leaving.

“It's a rather trying time for us.” Lady Blackwood sighs as Aunt Zelda begins mixing a potion on the other side of the room. You stand beside her and watch as she knows the recipe by heart. You can’t help but notice a slight tremor in her hands as she works. Her hands never shake when she’s making a potion. 

“Carrying a Child of Night to term should be the most joyous thirteen months in a witch's life.” Aunt Zelda replies.

“I agree. Except two of our children have already been called home by the Dark Lord before their births.

“The High Priest told me.” She says sorrowfully as she turns to face Lady Blackwood. “I'm so very sorry.”

“My husband wants a son, Sister Zelda.” Lady Blackwood tries to change the subject to something happier. “A male heir.”

“Well, we'll know soon enough if it is the Dark Lord's will.” Aunt Zelda continues with the examination and determines that Lady Blackwood is fine. The two of you put tools away as Father Blackwood reenters the room.

“How is she, sister?” He asks.

“She and the child are fine.” Aunt Zelda says simply. You notice Lady Blackwood staring at the three of you, so you decide to start an innocent conversation.

“Lady Blackwood, what is it like being married to a high priest?” You ask her.

“It’s wonderful.” She smiles slightly. “But I love Faustus for who he is, not his status.”

“I wonder if my mother loved my father like you love Father Blackwood.” There is a pause. “Do you think mortals feel things differently than witches and warlocks?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Me either. It’s rather strange being both witch and mortal. You never know how you’re supposed to feel or if what you’re feeling is right.” 

“That’s what pregnancy feels like as well.”

“But pregnancy is temporary. I’m afraid I’ll be a half-breed forever.” You say somewhat sadly. “And you’re never judged for being pregnant. I’m constantly being judged purely for existing.” 

“Y/N, stop bugging Lady Blackwood.” Aunt Zelda says to you.

“She’s rather inquisitive.” Lady Blackwood says, forcing a small laugh as Father Blackwood stands by her side.

“She’s a lot like her father, isn’t she?” He asks as he places a hand on her shoulder as though he were protecting her.

“You have no idea.” Aunt Zelda sighs as she rolls her eyes and places a hand on your shoulder. “Last night she and Sabrina set a demon loose in the house.”

“It’s not my fault the box had a demon inside it!” You say in your defense.

“What box?” He asks, his brow furrowing.

“Oh, that’s right, Sabrina hasn’t told you yet.” You say to Father Blackwood. “Father’s puzzle box. We opened it. It held a sleep demon that tried to kill all of us in our sleep.” You say as though it were an everyday occurrence. You hold up your bandaged arm. “But Sabrina and I took care of it.” You smile. 

“This means the twins can take those classes they were asking about.” Aunt Zelda says.

“Yes, I suppose it does.” He mumbles. “I will rearrange the schedules and the twins will be in higher level classes the next time they join us at the academy.”

“Thank you, Father Blackwood.” You say to him. 

“Now if you’ll excuse us, I have some business to take care of and Y/N must attend mortal school.” Aunt Zelda says.

“Yes, of course.” Father Blackwood says, waving a hand at the two of you. Aunt Zelda teleports the two of you home. 

“That was certainly interesting.” You lie. It wasn’t all that interesting, but you wanted to make Aunt Zelda feel good.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” She smiles proudly. “Now go get your coat and head off to school. Hilda has already packed your lunch and put it on the counter. She says. “She probably put one of those stupid notes in the bag again.” She mumbles more to herself than you. You grab a metal lunchbox from the counter and get your coat from the coatrack by the front door and slip it on.

“Aunt Zelda, may I ask a question about today?”

“What is it?”

“You’re always so confident making potions at home, potions for protection, health, revenge, death, and so on. But I noticed your hands were shaking when you made that potion for Lady Blackwood.” Her face falls a little.

“I haven’t made that potion in a long time.”

“But you know the recipe by heart.” She sighs.

“Y/N, part of making potions is being prepared to deal with the mistakes they cause.” She says slowly. “And I once made a mistake on one of my potions.”

“What happened? Didn’t you just throw it out?”

“No, I, um, I didn’t catch it until the potion was already consumed.” She doesn’t look at you. “You know we give fairly weak potions to babies to protect them, well this potion was one I hand created and perfected. But I wasn’t paying enough attention and I didn’t realize my mistake until the baby nearly died.” You stare at her in disbelief. Aunt Zelda had made a mistake.

“Whose baby was it?” You ask. “Did they survive?”

“It was-”

“There you two are!” Aunt Hilda says as she walks into the room. “I see you’ve got your lunch, love.” She smiles. “I’d love to stay and chat about your adventure, but I have an interview. Wish me luck!” She says quickly as she grabs her coat and rushes out of the   
house. You look back at Aunt Zelda.

“Who was it?” You ask.

“Honestly, I’m not really sure. It was centuries ago.” She says. “Martin? Malcolm? Mavis?” She lists off names, trying to remember. Silence falls between the two of you. “You’d better get to school before you miss more classes.” She says quickly, obviously not wanting to talk about her potions.

“Yes, ma’am.” You say. “I’ll see you after school.” You smile as you hug her tightly.

“Stay out of trouble.” She replies to you as she runs her fingers through your hair. 

“I’ll be with Sabrina. I can’t make any promises.” You say. A small smile appears on Aunt Zelda’s face as she hands you your bag. You quickly teleport to the school, appearing in the stall of an empty bathroom. You quietly make your way through the crowded halls to find Sabrina.

“Hey, how was seeing Lady Blackwood?” Sabrina asks you as she appears beside you.

“It was okay, nowhere near as interesting as I had hoped though.” You reply. “I told Father Blackwood about the puzzle box. He isn’t thrilled that we opened it.”

“He’ll survive.” She smiles. “Did Aunt Hilda pack you a lunch?”

“Of course.” You reply, holding up the lunchbox.

“Good, the cafeteria food sucks. Let’s go join our friends.” She smiles.

“Your friends.” You correct as you follow her.

“It really freaked me out.” You hear Susie say as the two of you approach the group.

“What's going on, guys?” Sabrina asks. “What freaked you out, Susie?”

“Susie's uncle is messed up,” Roz says.

“Beyond messed up. He had a breakdown in the mines, and he's been acting crazy ever since.” Susie says. “He attacked Harvey.” She adds.

“What? Attacked you where?” Sabrina asks.

“Susie's place. That's what I was gonna tell you.” Harvey says.

“My dad called a doctor,” Susie says.

“Maybe he should call an exorcist instead,” Harvey replies. Roz forces a laugh.

“What, what does that mean?” Sabrina asks. You sit next to her and open your lunchbox because your lunch is far more interesting than Sabrina’s mortal friends and their pointless drama. Aunt Hilda packed you a sandwich, an apple with a note taped to it, a thermos, and two cookies. The bag containing the cookies also has a note. 

“I was telling Susie and Roz. You know that thing I saw in the mines? Jesse saw it, too.”

“How do you know? Did he say that?” Sabrina asks as you take the food out of your lunch box and unwrap your sandwich while glancing at the note on the cookies. You already know it will instruct you to share one with Sabrina.

“He said a lot of crazy stuff,” Susie says. “He said he saw a monster.” 

“And then he said he was gonna eat Harvey's soul,” Roz adds. 

“Point being: Maybe whatever's down there is a-a demon and it, I don't know, possessed Jesse.” You roll your eyes as you read the note on your apple. It’s a simple ‘have a nice day, love’ note, Aunt Hilda writes them and sticks them to your fruit every day. You don’t tell anyone, but you secretly have all the notes stashed in your locker. You quickly slip the note in your pocket to add to the stash after lunch.

“Harvey, come on. I mean, is demonic possession even a thing?” Sabrina asks. You open the bag with the cookies and hold one out to Sabrina. She doesn’t pay attention, so you place it back in the bag and begin to eat the other one. Cookies must be eaten first when Aunt Zelda isn’t around to scold you about dessert. It’s a rule. 

“There's something else,” Roz says. “Um, this is gonna sound kind of crazy, but I like saw Uncle Jesse in my house last night, and he was saying horrible things to me, about me, and-”

“Me, too.” Harvey interrupts. You quickly finish the cookie and open the sandwich to see what Aunt Hilda put on it, she has a tendency to add ‘healthy’ things to her sandwiches. Just because it’s healthy doesn’t mean it tastes good.

“Same,” Susie adds.

“Did he touch any of you?” You ask, finally deciding to speak as you close the sandwich, deciding it is safe to eat.

“No, he didn’t,” Roz says.

“No,” Susie replies.

“No,” Harvey says.

“I don’t care if he touched you.” You say flatly to Harvey. “But since he didn’t touch either of you, I can’t kill him.” You shrug. 

“Y-you can’t kill my uncle,” Susie says nervously.

“Ignore her, she has horrible social skills,” Sabrina says quickly as she picks up your sandwich and shoves it in your mouth. “Maybe it was nightmares.” You force yourself not to gag as you taste dirt. Aunt Hilda has once again hidden something ‘healthy’ from her garden in your sandwich.

“This wasn't a nightmare, 'Brina. And Jesse might not be possessed, but he definitely looks like he's possessed.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.” You say. “My aunts look possessed in the mornings but that doesn’t mean they are.” You try to joke. You open the thermos and try to wash out the taste of dirt. You are met with a taste similar to the concoctions Aunt Hilda forced you to drink before your baptism but left in the summer sun for a few weeks. You spit it back into the thermos and slowly take out the apple, the last safe thing in your lunch besides Sabrina’s cookie.

“Well, whatever is wrong with your uncle, Susie, promise me you're not gonna go back in there, okay?” Sabrina says to her, ignoring your comment.

“Trust me, wild horses couldn't drag me back in there.” Silence falls upon everyone. You silently eat your apple and wait on someone to say something. After a few tense moments, Sabrina breaks the silence.

“We’d better get to class.” She says quickly, tossing your uneaten lunch in your lunchbox and dragging you out of the library, your apple still in your hand.

“That was rude.” You say as you swallow a mouthful of apple.

“So was talking about killing Susie’s uncle!” Sabrina hisses.

“Sabrina! Wait up! What was that about in the library?” Harvey asks as she stops the two of you. “You don't believe me? About what I saw in the mines?”

“No, I-I believe you saw something, but you were eight. You were terrified.”

“I'm not a coward, Sabrina.”

“Are you sure?” You ask him. He glares at you.

“No, of course not, but-” Sabrina says, placing her hand over your mouth.

“And I know what I saw.”

“It could have been anything. A shadow, or rocks. I mean-”

“What about last night? What about what Roz saw, what Susie saw? What I saw?”

“Isn't it possible it was your imagination?”

“All of our imaginations?”

“What do you want me to say?” Sabrina asks.

“I want you to believe me. Or at least be honest about what you're thinking. 'Cause it doesn't feel like you are.”

“I’m being honest.” You reply as Harvey walks away angrily. You and Sabrina begin to walk towards your class when Ms. Wardwell appears from behind a corner.

“Oh, girls.” Ms. Wardwell gasps. Do you have a moment? I'd love to continue our conversation from-”

“We told you, Ms. Wardwell, we’re not interested in any more of your half-truths.” Sabrina cuts her off. She quickly walks away and you follow behind her, making sure to glare at the woman as you walk past her.

“We can’t just ignore her forever.” You think to Sabrina. 

“Don’t care.” She thinks back. You toss your lunchbox in your locker and place the note in your stash before following Sabrina to class. The two of you hardly pay attention to each other or your classes. You’re too bored and Sabrina is too worried and upset.

“Aunties!” You happily call into the house when you get home.

“We have a big problem!” Sabrina says in a worried tone.

“Mephistopheles save us from the melodramatics of teenage witches.” Aunt Zelda sighs as the two of you go into the kitchen. She quickly sits down at the table and picks up her newspaper.

“How was school, loves?” Aunt Hilda chuckles. You can’t help but notice that she’s surrounded by lemons.

“Fine, but Susie's Uncle Jesse has been possessed by a demon.”

“Oh? How do you know that, love?”

“Oh, only all our friends.”

“Your friends.” You correct. You glance at Aunt Zelda, her face is hidden behind her newspaper barrier but you can see the occasional puff of smoke rise from behind the paper and dissipate into the air.

“While I was at the academy, or maybe while we were dealing with Batibat, Uncle Jesse attacked Harvey. They had to restrain him.”

“Sabrina, cases of actual demonic possession are extremely rare,” Aunt Zelda says as she lowers her newspaper, “despite what the False God and his propaganda machine would have you believe.” She quickly raises her newspaper.

“Have they called a doctor yet? Because they need to rule out every other possibility first. Like, epilepsy, or schizophrenia, Tourette's.” Aunt Hilda adds as she glances at Aunt Zelda. You quickly shove a few lemons in your pockets while she’s not looking. You could always use them to prank Ambrose or for some kind of spell or potion.

“Aunties, my mortal friends are talking about demons. What if they start talking about witches next?”

“The entire coven could be exposed.” You say, causing Aunt Zelda’s newspaper to fall. You almost want to make it into a game to see how many times she’ll lower and raise the newspaper.

“Who's talking about witches?” Aunt Zelda asks. “Give me their names and I'll make sure they stop talking about anything. Permanently.” You can’t help but smile at her tone of voice. “It's just terrible when teenagers slip into comas, isn't it, Hilda?”

“Susie is my friend. I won't leave her in a house with a dangerous, possibly possessed man.”

“We are not to involve ourselves in mortal affairs!” Aunt Zelda sighs. “But tell your friend not to touch the inhabited person. That contact would make them vulnerable to attacks.”

“What kind of attacks?”

“Psychological. Demons prey on your fears,” she pauses, “your shame, etcetera.”

“Harvey, Roz, and Susie had to tie Uncle Jesse up. They all touched him, and they've all had visions or visitations since then.”

“Get them to bathe in a bit of blessed water from the Sea of Galilee. That always does the trick.” Aunt Hilda chuckles.

“I don’t think it’d be that easy.” You reply. “Saying ‘here, bathe in this special water because I want you to’ doesn’t seem like a good way to keep people from asking questions.” There is silence. “Maybe Ambrose can help us study demonic possessions so we aren’t jumping to conclusions.” You say to Sabrina, hinting that it is time to leave the kitchen.

“Maybe,” she says quietly. The two of you start to leave the kitchen.

“Wait a minute, girls.” Aunt Hilda says. She holds her hand out to you. “Hand ‘em over.” You roll your eyes as you pull three lemons out of your pockets and hand them to her. “All of ‘em.” She tries not to smile. You roll your eyes and pull a lemon out of Sabrina’s pocket. 

“How did you put that in my pocket?” She asks.

“When you start arguing with Aunt Zelda you pay attention to literally nothing else.” You reply flatly.

“Now you can go play with your demonology stuff.” Aunt Hilda smiles knowingly. The two of you quickly go to Ambrose’s room.

“Hello, cousin,” Ambrose says to Sabrina as the two of you enter his room, “not as smart cousin.” He says to you with a smile.

“Do you have anything on demonic possession?” Sabrina asks before you can retaliate. 

“Demonic possession? I have loads of books on the subject.”

“Can you pull them for me?” Sabrina asks. “And then stand guard over our bodies while we astral project into Jesse's room?” She asks quickly.

“We?” You ask. Ambrose laughs. His smile falls when he realizes that Sabrina is serious.

“Is that the soundest of plans, cousin? The astral plane is treacherous. And the psychopomps-”

“We won't be projecting long enough for the psychopomps to gather, and we need to see Jesse for ourselves. We can't very well just walk into his room. This is the only way. Plus, if Jesse is possessed, maybe we can find out who the demon is, or what it wants.”

“We?” You ask again.

“Having a name is always helpful,” Ambrose says slowly.

“Besides, this will be good practice for when we go up against the Dark Lord.”

“Damn if you're not getting a bit cocky.” He says as he plays with a bottle beside him.

“In our astral form, we'll be safe. We won't have a body for the demon to hurt or enter.”

“Cousin.” He shakes his head as he stands up.

“Ambrose, please,” Sabrina begs. “If Jesse Putnam is possessed, he's a soul in torment, imprisoned by demonic forces.”

“He's not the only one. I'm imprisoned too, don't forget that.”

“Jesse's possessed, you're under house arrest. That's not the same thing.”

“True. His ordeal will be much shorter than mine.”

“He also didn’t commit a crime and put lives at risk.” You add, matching his tone.

“You don’t know the whole story, cousin.” He spits at you.

“You’re a felon serving a punishment. Not an innocent soul who didn’t do anything to deserve what he got.” 

“You aren’t as smart as you think you are.” He says to you.

“Neither are you.”

“That’s enough!” Sabrina says. “Can the two of you stop your everlasting battle of wits for a few minutes?” She asks the two of you. You both become silent. “Ambrose, if I could help you, I would.” 

“If you insist on projecting, you do so at your own peril,” Ambrose says, waving the two of you out of his room. 

“Why did you have to say that stuff to him?” Sabrina asks you as the two of you walk towards your room.

“Because it’s true. Ambrose cannot compare his punishment to that mortal’s torment.”

“But you didn’t have to say it like that.”

“And no one has to coddle him.” You look at her. “No one needs to coddle anyone. We’re all being punished for our own crimes as it is. Maybe that moral did something to deserve being attacked by the demon, but that doesn’t make it fair. Ambrose did a supernatural crime and is being punished a supernatural way. The mortal may have committed a mortal crime and is being punished a supernatural way. Mortal and supernatural shouldn’t mix, sister. Look at us. We’re living proof of that.”

“You changed your mind rather fast, does this mean you’ll help me?” She quietly asks after a moment.

“I don’t want to help you.” You say. “But I do want to protect you. We’re going to astral project together. I don’t trust the idea of you being alone with a demon, even in astral form.” A smile forms on her face. The two of you quickly gather the supplies you need and set up a circle of lit candles both of you lie in. Edward sits on Sabrina’s bed and stares her as Edward sits on your bed and stares you.

“If something goes wrong, get Ambrose.” You both say to your familiars.

“This is a bad idea.” You say to Sabrina as you look at the fire surrounding you.

“You always say that.”

“Because it’s always a bad idea!” You reply. The two of you join hand and close your eyes. When you open them again, you’re in Susie’s house.

“Hello,” you and Sabrina say at the same time. The man’s eyes fly open.

“Didn’t mean to intrude,” Sabrina adds somewhat nervously.

“Won't you have a seat?” The demon asks as it moves a chair towards the two of you. You quickly jump out of the way. If something touches either of you, the demon will know you’re not actually there.

“No, thanks. We’ll stand.”

“Come closer. There's something about you I can't quite- Oh!” His head moves awkwardly, as though he’s not used to controlling his body movements. “You're both corrupt. Impure. But in what way, though?” He says more to himself than you.

“What are you doing here, demon? What do you want?”

“Spoil, debase, and corrupt humans, starting with this vessel. And when I'm done, I'll move on to your friends, who were impolite” he lunges at the two of you, but the ropes holding him to the bed stop him, “and tied me like an animal.” You stand close to your twin, even though he can’t touch either of you, you don’t like what he’s trying to do.

“You don't need to stay tied up here. You could leave Jesse's body.”

“Leave? Why would I do that? It's so nice and warm and sinful in here.”

“Is that why you chose him? Was Jesse sinful?”

“He's a sodomite. An abomination. More than anything, Jesse Putnam was convenient. My possession is his reward for setting me free.”

“A mortal being supernaturally punished for a supernatural mistake.” You say more to yourself than anyone. “What's your name?” You ask.

“What's yours?” The demon asks as his neck cracks.

“I'm Y/N Spellman.” You say.

“I’m Sabrina Spellman,” Sabrina says.

“Daughters of High Priest and Conjuror, Edward Spellman.” You both say proudly.

“So, you're witches. In that case, there's no harm in telling you: I am Maerceci.” The curtain on the window pulls itself open revealing his name spelled out on the window that is covered in something. You aren’t quite sure you want to know what it is. “Overlord of Gluttony. Devourer of Flesh. Demon from the Bowels.”

“The Putnams don't want you here, Maerceci. I don't want you here, so leave now, before things get bad for you.”

“If you think we’re bluffing,” you smirk, “I'll happily introduce you to another of your kind that I-” The demon vomits at the two of you, stopping you from speaking.

“You're not even here. How rude.” The demon growls before becoming silent, foam leaking from his mouth.

“Did you leave?” Sabrina asks the demon. “Maerceci?” She begins to walk toward it. You grab her arm.

“Don’t.” You whisper.

“Jesse?” She asks, pulling you closer to the demon. Suddenly, you can’t breathe. You claw at your throat, trying to allow air to flow, but it doesn’t work. You look at Sabrina, who is also in trouble. You try to think of something you can do to save the two of you, but nothing comes to mind. Astral projection isn’t something you ever really studied. You never needed to. Suddenly, you’re on the ground at home, gasping for air. Your throat feels like fire as you take shaky breaths. You quickly sit up and look at Sabrina. You sit up too quickly and feel lightheaded. You feel yourself start to fall backward.

“Don’t fall into the flames, cousin,” Ambrose says, grabbing you by the shoulders. You try to blink away the darkness that forms at the corners of your vision. He stares at you worriedly.

“I’m fine.” You choke out as you slowly stand up. Sabrina also stands and walks to her mirror. You sit on your bed. 

“It felt like he was slithering down my throat,” Sabrina says after a few moments. “How did he do that? How could he touch us?” 

“The bugger must be a higher demon,” Ambrose says. “Some of them can lay hands on your astral body if they find you in the realm. I don't want to say, ‘I told you so,’ but-”

“I’ll say it.” You choke out. “I fucking told you so. I told you this was a bad idea! We should have just let this mess sort itself out instead of getting involved!”

“I got his name, Ambrose,” Sabrina says proudly. “Maerceci.” She hands him a paper with the name written on it.

“Mmm. Can't say it rings any bells. It's not Euphratean or Mesopotamian.”

“Maybe I can ask Nicholas Scratch or Father Blackwood. I mean, they are demonologists, after all.” Ambrose begins to laugh. 

“No need.” Ambrose laughs. “Jesse's demon isn't Sumerian at all.” He beings to scribble something onto the paper. “He's just a cheeky bastard with a fondness for wordplay.” He holds up the paper to the two of you. He wrote the demon’s name backward under where Sabrina wrote it.

“Ice cream?” Sabrina asks.

“In all honesty, I’m not that surprised. I mean nothing that easy has ever been true.” You sigh.

“You almost died, cousin,” Ambrose says with minimal concern.

“Almost is the keyword. I’m not bleeding, I’m not currently dying, I’m not cursed, I’m not passed out. Therefore, that was easy.”

“Demons have an awful sense of humor.” He says as he wadds the paper up and tosses it at you. “And can you blame them? They live in hell. Do you have any other tidbits?”

“He said something about Uncle Jesse setting him free.”

“Free? From what? Or where?”

“I,” Sabrina whispers.

“I think I know.” You say, looking at Sabrina. She nods at you as you stand. The two of you begin to walk out of the room.

“Cousins? Where are you going? Y-You almost died.” Ambrose calls to you.

“Almost is the key word, Ambrose!” You call back. You hear him sigh as you follow Sabrina. “So, where are we going?” You ask.

“To Harvey’s. He can help us get into the mines.” She says as she holds your hands. “Can you teleport us?” You grip her hands and close your eyes. When you open them, the two of you are at the edge of Harvey’s front yard. 

“I can.” You smile. The two of you walk up to the front door and Sabrina knocks. You wait a few minutes before Harvey answers the door.

“Oh, hey guys. Come on in.” Harvey says. He leads the two of you to his room and you all sit down. “Sabrina, I-”

“I was wrong, Harvey.” Sabrina interrupts. It was wrong of me to dismiss what you said, what you saw. I'm sorry.” Sabrina says.

“I, however, still think you’re an idiot.” You smile. Sabrina elbows you.

“I knew there was something fishy about the way you were acting in school.”

“I wasn't lying exactly, I didn't want what you were saying to be true.”

“But now you admit it might be.”

“I'm open to the possibility of what you're thinking. And I-I want to go into the mines.”

“What?”

“To see if I can find some clue as to what might still be affecting Jesse.”

“If you could get past security by yourself, and that's a big if, you'd never be able to find your way around. It's like a maze down there.”

“Could you draw me a map?”

“A map?”

“To what, this isn't The Goonies.”

“To where Jesse was working. Where he was working last before he got sick. Could you find out where that was?”

“I mean, I could ask Tommy. But, 'Brina, literally anything could happen to you down there. You could break your ankle, a demon could eat you-”

“I'm not afraid.”

“I’ll be there.” You say. “I’m more than capable of protecting my sister and myself.” Harvey looks past you and Sabrina. Something doesn’t feel right. You look behind you and see nothing, but the feeling doesn’t go away.

“Harvey?” Sabrina asks.

“You think I'm chicken shit?” Harvey asks in an irritated tone.

“No, I don't,” Sabrina says.

“Yes, I do.” You say. “What does chicken shit mean?” You whisper to Sabrina.

“I'm coming with you.” Harvey decides.

“No. No, that's not what I want.”

“It’s not what I want either.” You reply.

“I don't care what you want. I'm not letting you two go into the mineshaft, alone, in the dead of night. Besides, you're gonna need someone to help sneak you in.” He says as he stands up and walks away. “Stay here.” He adds.

“We’re more than capable of getting into the mines on our own.” You think to Sabrina.

“But we can’t get to where we want to go without him.” She thinks back. The two of you are silent, you pick up the guitar near Harvey’s bed and play with it.

“You aren’t a musician.” Sabrina smiles.

“No, but it’d be interesting to be one.” You reply, listening to the different tones the strings make. Harvey returns and looks at you.

“Is that my guitar?” He asks.

“Yeah, sorry. Couldn’t resist.” You reply as you put it back on its stand.

“It’s fine.” He replies. “I never play it.” He looks at Sabrina. “Here is where Jesse was working.” He says, holding out a piece of paper.

“This is perfect,” Sabrina says, looking at the paper.

“Let’s get going.” You reply. The three of you get into Harvey’s truck and drive to the mines.

“Security should be changing shifts soon. If we’re going to get in there, we need to do it now.” Harvey says. The three of you quickly go into the main entrance to the mineshaft. You grab the flashlights that are handing on the wall and turn them on. Harvey lets   
out a nervous breath.

“If you wanna just wait here-” Sabrina says.

“Hell, no.” Harvey cuts her off. The three of you begin your descent into the mines with Harvey leading the way. You can hear bats in the distance as you go deeper and deeper into the mines. 

“Mines are quite fascinating.” You say to Sabrina.

“How so?” She asks.

“So many caverns and crevices. So much to explore. It’s much like the human mind.”

“What exactly are we looking for?” Harvey asks, trying to get you to stop talking.

“Um, I guess anything that looks strange or dangerous,” Sabrina says.

“You mean like a demon?”

“Well, I'm glad you haven't lost your sense of humor, at least.” Sabrina chuckles. You each look at a different corner of the mine. “Wait, what's-“ Sabrina says quietly. You join her and shine your flashlight on the ground. She plays with some of the rocks on the ground. Two of them form the picture of a snake. “Harvey, I think I found something.” She says to Harvey. There’s silence. “Harvey?”

“He’s gone.” You say, looking around for the boy.

“Harvey, where are you?” She grabs you with one hand and holds the stones with the other. She begins to look frantically for the mortal until she hits her foot on something on the ground, stopping both of you. “Oh!” She yells out in pain as she lets go of you and drops the stones, you accidentally drop your flashlight, surrounding the two of you in darkness. “Damn it!” You snap your fingers to create a small source of light in the palm of your hand while you search for your flashlight. Sabrina quickly grabs her and beings to hit it, trying to make it work again. You grab yours and do the same. The lights come to life to illuminate the face of Ms. Wardwell. Sabrina gasps in surprise as you grab the stone pieces from the ground.

“Ms. Wardwell! What are you doing here?” Sabrina asks.

“Exactly what I promised your father I would do. I'm looking after you, so you don't come to any harm.”

“Wait, now you're following us?”

“These are very dangerous mines, Sabrina. In the old days, it was believed that there were tunnels that burrowed all the way to-”

“Hell. Yes, we know the stories.” You say flatly.

“That's why we’re here,” Sabrina adds.

“Is that a trapping stone?” Ms. Wardwell asks in surprise, looking at the pieces in your hands.

“It's none of your business.” You spit, shoving them into Sabrina’s bag.

“And I thought I made myself clear but consider this your third and final warning. Next time, I'm going to have to report you to the High Priest.” Sabrina says angrily. 

“Sabrina! 'Brina!” You hear Harvey yell in the distance.

“Harvey? Harvey!” Sabrina calls to him as she runs towards the sound of his voice, leaving you behind.

“Sabrina, wait! I can help!” Ms. Wardwell yells to her. She looks at you, worry in her eyes. “Please, let me help.” She pleads.

“We don’t need your help. We may be young, but we’re a lot stronger than you think. We’re stronger than our father ever was. Stay out of our way.” You say venomously before running after your sister.

“Harvey, what is it?” You hear Sabrina say as you catch up to her. You find the two of them hidden in a corner.

“It's here. I saw it. Over there.” Harvey says in a panic. You shine your light towards the direction he’s nodding to. The light reveals a pile of rocks.

“Harvey, it, it's just rocks,” Sabrina says. He turns to look at the rocks.

“I dunno, maybe I did just-”

“Maybe you imagined it, maybe it was real. And you came down here with us anyway. And that makes you the bravest, Harvey Kinkle.” Sabrina says sweetly as she kisses him.

“And that makes me want to puke.” You say flatly.

“Can we go?” Sabrina asks.

“Absolutely.” Harvey sighs.

“Did you find anything?” He asks as they stand up.

“Nothing.” Sabrina sighs.


	12. Episode 6 Part 2

You and Sabrina get up early the next morning, change your clothes, grab the stone pieces from her bag, and go to Ambrose’s room.

“It’s rude to enter someone’s room uninvited and unannounced,” Ambrose grumbles from his bed as the two of you walk into his room. “What if I had a lady or gentleman caller?”

“I didn’t know you still had the blowup dolls.” You smile sweetly as you walk toward a pile of books. “Are these the demonology books?” You ask.

“Yes, they are.” He sighs. “You’re welcome.” He adds as you hand a book to Sabrina.

“Thank-you.” You say flatly. “Now help us look.” You toss a book at him. He spins into new clothes and sits down between you and Sabrina. The three of you begin to look through the lists of demons and what they do until Sabrina chuckles.

“Got you, creep.” She says.

“Huh?” Ambrose asks.

“Apophis. His name's Apophis.” She shows the two of you a drawing in the book she’s holding, it matches the stone she found in the mines. “If we fuse the pieces together, can we trap the demon like we did the Batibat?” Ambrose makes an annoying noise and pushes the stone pieces together before setting them down on the table.

“You'll have to get it out of Jesse Putnam first,” Ambrose says after a moment. He begins to look through books again.

“Girls, it’s almost time to go!” Aunt Hilda yells to you from the kitchen. 

“We can ask Father Blackwood about it in class,” Sabrina says.

“Or we could not bother the man that already hates us.” You say, summoning your bag and hers. Sabrina rolls her eyes as she takes her bag from you. She spins into some new clothes and the two of you walk out of Ambrose’s room and head to the kitchen to see Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda.

“Have fun at school, girls.” Aunt Zelda says, not looking at her newspaper. “Y/N,” she lowers her newspaper, “are you wearing the necklace I gave you?” 

“Of course.” You smile slightly, touching the small star on your neck.

“Good girl.” She says with a proud smile.

“Have fun with your new classes, loves.” Aunt Hilda smiles, hugging you both. 

“Are we staying there at night again?” You ask.

“Of course. It’s part of the academy experience.” Aunt Zelda says. “But you can always come home if you wish.”

“But we would like you to try spending the night at the academy.” Aunt Hilda adds. “It would only be one night since the academy has the next day off. You don’t reply. You feel anxious about being at the academy at night again, especially what happened with the Weird Sisters.

“Do you want to teleport, or would you like me to drive you?” Aunt Zelda asks, beginning to fold up her newspaper.

“We can teleport.” Sabrina says quickly. “We’re old enough to get ourselves to school.” 

“Very well then. Hurry up or you’ll be late.” 

“But before you go, take these.” Aunt Hilda hands each of you an apple and smiles. “I’ll see you soon my darlings!” You and Sabrina join hands. You close your eyes and when you open them, you’re in the dormitory at the academy. A book is sitting on your bed and Sabrina’s bed. You toss your bag into your truck and pick up the book. You thumb through it to reveal your new schedule. You glance at Sabrina’s to reveal that you have the same schedule.

“Guess what our first class is.” You say. She looks at the schedule.

“Choir with Lady Blackwood.” She says flatly as she spins into a new outfit.

“We’re still stuck in choir.”

“That’s because you two have wonderful voices.” Lady Blackwood’s voice says from the doorway.

“Hello, Lady Blackwood.” You say formally as you close your schedule. “I hope you’re feeling well.”

“Wonderfully.” She says. “My husband has sent me here to make sure the two of you arrived on time for your classes and to let you know about your new schedules. But I see you’ve already found them.”

“Yeah, we have. Thanks.” Sabrina says. 

“Come along, girls. Class will begin soon.” She walks to the classroom and the two of you follow behind her. 

“We insulted Lady Blackwood.” You think to Sabrina.

“Maybe she didn’t take it in a bad way?” She thinks back.

“We said it in a bad way!”

“I’ve rearranged how the ladies will stand in the choir.” Lady Blackwood says to the two of you. “I’d like to separate you.”

“Separate us?” You ask.

“Yes. You’re always together. You live together, you eat together, you sleep together. You think together. Even your schedules at the academy are identical. I’d like to see how you operate on your own.”

“Lady Blackwood, we already have been separated.” You say. She glances at you. “Sabrina went to mortal school when she was five and I didn’t start going to mortal school until recently. We were separated for a large portion of the day five days a week for years.”

“But I want to see what you can do while you’re separated but together. You’re going to be in the same choir, but I want to see what you can do if one of you is a soprano and the other is an alto.”

“I see.” You lie. 

“Twenty dollars says she just wants to make us miserable.” Sabrina thinks to you as Lady Blackwood leads you into the classroom and closes the door behind you. The rest of the class has already arrived and is standing in their places. Lady Blackwood places you and Sabrina in the same row of the choir, but opposite ends.

“It’s only temporary.” Lady Blackwood smiles.

“Please don’t forget me!” Sabrina says dramatically, igniting a few laughs from the crowd. You roll your eyes as you walk to your new place.

“How much do you want to bet Lady Blackwood hopes she doesn’t have twins because of us?” You think to Sabrina.

“Twins are a blessing.” She thinks back.

“A blessing to who?” You try to hide the smile on your face.

“Even the conversations you have in your heads is boring,” Prudence says from behind you. The class becomes silent, looking at the two of you.

“Not as boring as your face.” You retort. You look at her and her sisters up and down. “Honestly girls, the whole slutty virgin look does not suit any of you.” Laughter erupts from the choir.

“That’s enough, ladies.” Lady Blackwood says sternly. “Let’s begin with some vocal exercises using our singing voices.” She begins class. You can feel Prudence’s eyes on you, but you don’t care. You may not be as magically strong as her, but you have fists and teeth. You’re sure you can take her if necessary. Lady Blackwood makes everyone sing scales before moving on to Satanic songs. She makes you call sing until the bell rings, dismissing class.

“Where are we going next?” You ask Sabrina as she looks at her schedule. 

“Math.” She sighs.

“Magical math?” You ask hopefully.

“No, just math.” She hands you the schedule. You sigh in irritation as the two of you go off to find the math class. The two of you sit through the math class, just as bored as the mortal math class. The only difference is this math is actually somewhat challenging, not much, but more than the mortal math. After the math class is lunch. You and Sabrina get your trays and food and find an empty table to sit at.

“Mind if we join you?” Prudence asks the two of you as she and her sister sit across from the two of you. You pick at the green beans on your tray, not looking at Prudence. “How are you liking your classes? Are they challenging enough for you?” 

“They’re fine,” Sabrina says simply. You can feel Prudence’s eyes on you.

“Come on mutt, you can speak, can’t you?” She teases.

“I can bite, too.” You growl. 

“Oh, I’m aware. I still have a lovely little scar from one of our scuffles.” She purrs in reply.

“You deserved it. You’re a bully.”

“Are you any better?” She asks you. You stare at her in shock. “Well?”

“We aren’t alike, Prudence. I protect. You attack.”

“What do you protect exactly?” She scoffs. “Your sister? You aren’t protecting her. You’re holding her back. Every time something comes along to make her stronger, you’re there to keep it from her.” She stares into your eyes. “Y/N, you and I are alike in more ways than either of us care to admit.” She purrs. 

“How so?” You ask.

“You protect your family. I protect my family.”

“That’s a lie.” You growl. “You’d throw your sisters under the bus at the first sign of danger. You only care about yourself.”

“My sisters and this academy are all I have. Your family and your home are all you have.” She smiles.   
“We care only for our families and will risk anything for them. We’re all orphans. Why don’t we call a truce?” She asks.

“That’s out of character for you.” You say, trying to figure out the catch.

“Deal,” Sabrina speaks up.

“I’m glad we have an agreement.” Prudence smiles. You glare at Sabrina. “To newfound friendship,” Prudence says, raising her glass. Her sisters and Sabrina do the same. Sabrina elbows you and you raise your glass. Everyone takes a drink from their cup. There is a tense silence between the five of you. “So, when are you two going home?”

“Aunt Zelda is picking us up tomorrow morning.” You say. A bell rings before anyone can say anything else. You and Sabrina put away your trays and head to your next class, a class on potions.

“This should prove to be exciting.” You say to Sabrina as the two of you walk down the hall. 

“I thought you hated potions.”

“No, I like potions, I just don’t like making them.” You reply. “It requires too much concentration and too much accuracy.” 

“And you always get in trouble for not cleaning out your cauldron properly.”

“That too.” Sabrina laughs as the two of you enter the classroom and take a seat towards the doorway. You flip through the book for the class, looking at some of the potions you will be learning about. “Sabrina, it looks like we’re going to learn all sorts of potions.” You smile, looking at all the interesting titles.

“Yes, we will be making and testing potions in this class.” A woman says as she enters the room. Her voice is gruff and stern. “I am your teacher, Madam Maura.” She introduces herself. She looks to be maybe thirty with ice blue eyes and short steel gray hair. She is thin with little muscle. Her appearance reminds you of a fairy without the wings, but her stance reminds you of a military leader. She stands as straight as an arrow with her arms crossed, her feet equal to her shoulders. She looks like someone who would definitely not back down from a fight with Aunt Zelda. She instantly fascinates you. “Today, however, we’re going to review our rules and regulations for this class.” There is an audible groan from a few of the students. “It’s your own fault.” Madam Maura says sternly. “You imbeciles decided to dare Axel to drink a potion you lot threw random things into. You’re lucky he only lost his teeth and not his life.” She glares at a few specific students as she speaks. “My main rule for this class is?” She asks the class.

“Act like a child, be treated like a child.” The class chants.

“That’s Aunt Zelda’s rule.” You think to Sabrina.

“It is not.” She thinks back.

“It’s her unspoken rule.”

“The second rule?” Madam Maura asks the class.

“Take potions seriously.” The class responds.

“Why do we take potions seriously?”

“Because someone could die.” 

“Good.” She says. “Now, for your stupidity, you will write ‘I will not be an imbecile’ until class is over.”

“I like this teacher.” You think to Sabrina.

“You two can work on a potion together.” Madam Maura says to you and Sabrina. “You two weren’t part of the idiocy and therefore don’t need to be punished. Prove yourselves to me.” She says sternly.

“What would you like us to make, Madam Maura?” You ask respectfully.

“Let’s start with something simple.” She says, picking up a small cauldron and placing it on your desk. “Make a potion that will make someone smile.” She places a cauldron on Sabrina’s desk. “They’ll heat themselves.” She adds before walking to her desk at the front of the room. “The recipe is in your books and the ingredients are on the shelves at the back of the room.” She opens a book and beings to look through it, leaving you and Sabrina to your own devices. You look in the index of your book for a potion that could make someone smile. It seems like an odd request from such a gruff woman, but you don’t question it. You find a potion that causes temporary happiness. You take the book to the back of the room with you and gather the ingredients as Sabrina does the same. You place the ingredients on your desk and begin working on your potion. You recite the incantation in your head as you add the different ingredients, hoping you measured them correctly. If even one ingredient is too much or too little, the potion could easily turn deadly.

“I hate potions.” You think to Sabrina. She doesn’t reply. You glance at her to see she’s too focused on her potion. You work in silence, concentrating on the cauldron in front of you. You watch the potion form a gray liquid, with the addition of sunstone powder, it turns a beautiful shade of blue. You add a bit of mint to make it turn a bubble shade of purple. You stir the potion for a few minutes before getting a ladle and carefully pouring the potion into three small sealable jars. You seal two of the jars and carry the third up to Madam Maura.

“Done already?” She asks, looking up from her book.

“Yes, ma’am.” You reply. She looks at your jar.

“Let’s see if you take after your aunt.”

“My aunt?” 

“Zelda. Edward was good with spells, but Zelda was always good at potions. Pretty good at creating her own from scratch, too.” She says as she takes the jar from you and examines it. Once she’s done, she holds it out to you. “Let’s see if it worked.”

“I have to drink it?” You ask nervously.

“It’s a rule. You made the potion, you have to drink it, kid.” You take a deep breath as you take the jar and stare at the liquid. You quickly chug the contents of the jar and set it down on her desk as Sabrina walks up with her jar. The liquid in her jar is a dark shade of blue. Madam Maura looks at you for a moment. “How do you feel?” She asks.

“Happy,” you reply, actually feeling somewhat giddy.

“Now try yours.” She says to Sabrina. Sabrina drinks her potion and her face forms a large grin.

“I see you made an actual smiling potion. Very good work girls.” Madam Maura says proudly. “I’m glad to see that the Spellmans still have strong skills at such young ages.” You return to your seats. You gather up the two bottles of potion you made and quickly shove them in your pockets when Madam Maura isn’t looking. The bell soon rings, ending class. You have one class left; the class taught by Father Blackwood.

“Ready for the fun class?” Sabrina asks. 

“Of course not.” You reply as you follow her to the classroom. You enter the room to see Father Blackwood staring at the two of you. You quickly take a seat and wait for class to start.

“Today we’ll be finishing up our discussion on the history of demons and move on to demons in general.” Father Blackwood says once the rest of the students have also taken a seat. Be begins to recap his previous lessons as you begin to daydream.

“Why do you think he gave us a potentially deadly box?” You think to Sabrina.

“Because he wouldn’t open it.” She thinks back.

“But why would he give it to a couple of kids? I mean would he really put his students in dangerous situations?”

“We just made potions we were forced to drink, and one kid apparently lost his teeth.”

“They’ll grow back.” You think in defense of your classmates. Sabrina doesn’t reply. You tune out the lecture and let your mind wander for the majority of class. 

“What do you think, mutt?” Prudence’s voice echoes in your head. You jump and look at her. She smiles at you.

“Get out of my head.” You think to her.

“Aww, is the Spellman guard dog afraid I’ll learn some secrets?” She thinks to you. You ignore her and listen to Father Blackwood as he finishes his recap and moves on to new material.

“Originally, from the time of Homer, the word "demon" was used to describe a being of benevolence. Of course, that meaning has been perverted by the False Church, and now carries with it connotations of malevolence.” Father Blackwood says.

“Father Blackwood?” Sabrina asks, interrupting him.

“Yes, Miss Spellman?” He asks.

“Can witches perform exorcisms?” The class begins to laugh at her. Your face feels hot in embarrassment for your sister.

“Miss Spellman, I'm not sure what that question has to do with anything we're discussing in this seminar, but no, witches may not.” He says sternly. “Someone tell Sabrina, please, why that is?”

“Exorcisms are a Catholic rite in which male priests call upon the False God for assistance to expel demons,” Prudence says proudly.

“Correct. Now, as I was saying, the ancient Assyrians, particularly, were-” He pauses as he notices that Sabrina has raised her hand again. “Yes, Miss Spellman?

“My friend's uncle is being possessed by a demon, Apophis. What if this brings unwanted attention to the witches of Greendale?”

“That's not a concern, as possessions involving Apophis rarely last long.”

“Why is that?”

“Apophis is a parasitic demon, also known as the Devouring Worm. He's feasting on your friend's uncle from the inside out. If he's alive, he won't be for long.” He sighs.

“Then something has to be done, and fast.”

“No need. As I said, the mortal will be gone soon.”

“Where does the demon go then, once he's done feasting?”

“I imagine he'll do what all parasites do. Jump to another warm host. Usually, a body that's already come into contact with Apophis.”

“That would be my friends. So, if witches can't perform exorcisms, then what can they-we do? Banish this creep?”

“Some demons can be banished. More tenacious ones, like the Devouring Worm, would require an exorcism. Which, again, witches are not allowed or able to perform.” He says quickly and without hiding his irritation. The bell begins to ring, signaling the end of class. “On that note, class dismissed.” You quickly leave the classroom with Sabrina on your heels when Nickolas stops you.

“Hey.” He says to the two of you. “Wanna talk about it?” He asks Sabrina.

“What?” She asks.

“Whatever's on your mind?”

“I wish I could, Nick, but I've got-”

“Let me guess friends to save?” He interrupts. “Demons to exorcise?” He chuckles. 

“You're a rebel, Spellman. That's how I like my witches.” He smirks.

“Nicholas,” Sabrina smiles, “to be clear, I have a boyfriend.” Sabrina rolls her eyes.

“Yes, but you also have two natures. You go to two schools. Why not date two guys? I'm down with sharing.” He says. Sabrina has a look of shock on her face. You have a look of disgust.

“If you want, my identical twin is single,” Sabrina says. You glare at her.

“She’s too quiet and timid for my type.” He says, glancing at you. You grab him by the front of his shirt and push him against the door of the classroom. You run your free hand through his hair and lean in close, your lips almost touching. You move your hand from his shirt to the other side of his head. He lets out a quiet laugh as he stares into your eyes. “Maybe you’re my type after all.” You mirror the smile and send a small surge of electricity through his skull. Not enough to hurt him, but enough to give him a headache for a while. He falls to the ground in surprise and is too stunned to speak.

“Was that really necessary?” Sabrina asks flatly.

“He called me timid.” You say. “I am a lot of things Nicholas Scratch. But timid is not one of them.” You growl at him before walking out of the room. You hear Sabrina apologizing to him and him laughing as you leave.

“That wasn’t necessary,” Sabrina says to you as she catches up with you.

“I don’t like him.” You say to Sabrina.

“You don’t like anyone.”

“I’m aware, but I especially don’t like him.”

“You’re just mad because he thinks you’re timid.” She smiles. 

“Shut up.” You reply. She laughs. The two of you quickly eat supper and spend some time with Quentin and the other ghost children before returning to your dorm for the night. You spin into your pajamas and lie on your bed as you play with your necklace. You hate this bed. It feels nothing like your bed at home. The sheets feel nothing like the sheets at home. You miss the familiarity of home. The dorms are too quiet. At home you can hear the faint laughing of Aunt Hilda as she reads a trashy romance novel and the occasional snoring of Aunt Zelda.

“Are you going to sleep tonight?” Sabrina asks as the lights in the room turn off and all the girls climb into their beds.

“I’m not sure yet.” You say. “Sleeping means letting your guard down and the last time we let our guard down here we were almost harrowed to death.”

“I know,” Sabrina says.

“Are you going to sleep?” You ask.

“I am.” She laughs softly. You stare into the darkness, waiting for something to happen. As everyone around you falls asleep, you also begin to drift off. Sabrina wakes you up early in the morning.

“Are you ready to go home?” She asks.

“Absolutely.” You mumble sleepily. “When is Aunt Zelda coming?”

“She should be here this evening,” Sabrina says.

“Why is she leaving us here so long?” You whine sleepily. “I don’t like it here!” Sabrina chuckles. She lets you spin into a new outfit before dragging you to the cafeteria for breakfast. You eat and then spend time with the ghost children again before having lunch and browsing the library. You find several books worth interest, but you’re not allowed to touch any of them or take them home. Sabrina finds you just before you get into an argument with the librarian about books.

“Aunt Zelda isn’t coming to get us.” She says, carrying both your bag and hers.

“Then we’re teleporting.” You say. “Let’s go. This guy doesn’t understand that books are meant to be read, not displayed. They’re books, not fine china.” You grumble as you grab her arm.

“But first we need to stop at Susie’s.” She says. You nod in reply as you teleport the two of you to Susie’s house. Sabrina knocks on the door, but no one answers.

“Why did we come here?” You ask.

“I wanted to check on Susie.” She replies. “But she’s not home.”

“Let’s go home then.” You say as grab her again and teleport the two of you to the front porch of your own home. Sabrina leads the way into the house.

“Aunties, we’re home!” You call.

“We’re in here, lamb.” Aunt Hilda calls. You and Sabrina follow the sound of her voice to the parlor.

“How was the academy, love?” Aunt Hilda asks as you enter the room. You stare at Ms. Wardwell.

“Y/N almost kissed a boy,” Sabrina says, unaware of Ms. Wardwell’s presence.

“That’s not true. I electrocuted him.” You argue.

“W-why did you electrocute him?” Aunt Hilda asks.

“He called me timid.” You shrug.

“That’s not how you handle that situation.” 

“Absolutely not,” Aunt Zelda says, “you kick him in-” 

“No. We use our words.” Aunt Hilda says quickly and loudly.

“What are you doing here?” Sabrina asks as she finally notices Ms. Wardwell.

“Girls, please don't be cross with me.” Ms. Wardwell begs. “After our encounter in the mines, and having recognized the demon Apophis on that stone, I became concerned that you were putting yourselves in danger.”

“We’re always putting ourselves in danger. That’s part of growing up.” You reply.

“Do our aunties know what you are?” Sabrina asks.

“I've told them everything.”

“And?” Sabrina asks.

“And why isn’t she in the Cain Pit?” You ask. “Why is she sitting so close to Aunt Zelda? Why hasn’t Aunt Zelda murdered her yet?”

“I wish I could say we were surprised, but this is just like Edward, isn't it, Hilda?” Aunt Zelda asks her sister.

“Hmm.” She hums in response.

“It's insulting, of course, that he didn't think we'd be up to the task of protecting you ourselves.”

“Well, maybe you aren't.” Ms. Wardwell interrupts flatly.

“I beg your pardon?” Aunt Zelda says to the woman.

“The twins have been finding themselves in increasingly difficult predicaments since fleeing their Dark Baptism.”

“That is a good point.” Aunt Hilda says quietly.

“Quiet, Hilda.” Aunt Zelda spits.

“Go to Heaven.” You say to Ms. Wardwell. 

“Excuse me?” She says. Everyone’s attention turns to you.

“What Sabrina and I get into has nothing to do with our aunts and for you sit there and insult them in such a way in the Spellman home is an insult upon me and my father, the man you claimed to love!” You say, your voice getting louder and anger taking control of you. “I will not hesitate to slit your throat if you insult my aunts in such a way again.” You say venomously. 

“That’s not polite, Y/N!” Aunt Hilda scolds. She looks at Aunt Zelda for help, but Aunt Zelda takes a drag of her cigarette to hide the proud smile on her face. 

“Aunties, Ms. Wardwell, Jesse Putnam is going to die if we don't do anything! And my friends will be next. And if I can't get help from the Church of Night, I'll get it from the Catholic church down the road.”

“Have you lost your mind? Turning to the False Church for help? Has your Aunt Hilda's excommunication taught you nothing?” Aunt Zelda asks in surprise.

“I don't see what choice I have-”

“The problem will honestly eventually sort itself out if we leave it alone.” You mumble. 

“Father Blackwood said that there is no exorcism rite for witches to perform.” Sabrina continues talking over you.

“Actually, it so happens Edward wrote a rite expressly for that purpose.” Ms. Wardwell says.

“And how, Ms. Wardwell, is that information at all helpful?” Aunt Zelda asks, glaring at the woman.

“Always thinking outside the box, Edward.” Aunt Hilda mumbles.

“It so happens, I have a copy of the rite with me. If Sabrina insists on following this madness through, she should be armed with the proper tools at least.”

“I'm sorry. Are you actually suggesting that my niece perform an exorcism?” Aunt Zelda says, eyes wide.

“We stopped by Susie's on our way home from the academy. She and her dad aren't there, so if we act fast-”

“She’s determined to, it seems.” Ms. Wardwell says.

“You claim that your entire raison d'etre is to protect Sabrina.” Aunt Zelda says.

“Well, it is. And I shall be with her, of course. And at the first sign of danger, I'll spirit her away.”

“I’m going too.” You speak up. “This is dangerous and stupid. But I don’t trust this woman to protect my sister.” You look at Ms. Wardwell. “I don’t believe you’re as safe as you want us to think you are. I don’t think you’re safe at all.” You stare into her eyes. “If our father truly trusted you, why didn’t you know about me? Why did you only know about Sabrina? Aunt Zelda and Aunt Hilda knew about me. They knew we were twins. You didn’t know I existed until I started going to mortal school sixteen years later. If Edward Spellman didn’t trust you with the knowledge that he had two children, why do you expect me to believe that he wanted you anywhere near us? Telling someone you only had one child when you actually had two sounds like a strategy to keep at least one child safe from a person who can’t be trusted.” Tense silence falls upon the room. “I can teleport.” You say. “If something goes wrong, I’ll teleport Sabrina and me away and we’ll leave her for bait.” You say, glaring at her. She gives you a look you can’t identify. Is it pride? Surprise?

“No. I won't allow it. I forbid it!” Aunt Zelda booms as she stands up and moves away from Ms. Wardwell. “And you, you are staying here!” She yells at you, moving closer to you as though you would run away from her. You silently lower your head, not wanting to face her wrath. You feel your own anger draining out of you.

“Aunt Zelda, I'm not asking you for permission. I'm doing it.” Sabrina says. “And if Ms. Wardwell wants to chaperone me, fine. But I won't be leaving that room until Jesse Putnam is free.”

“It's a good thing Edward had me looking after you. Your aunts, it appears, would have you perform the exorcism alone.”

“You are on very thin ice, Wardwell.” You growl, raising your head. “Find someone else to insult or I will put you in the Cain Pit myself. I don’t believe in all the peace and love my father believed in. I will rip your throat out and use your blood for broth.”

“No, not me.” Aunt Hilda chuckles, ignoring you. “I'll go as well.”

“Hilda!” Aunt Zelda cries. “Need I remind you the Church of Night expressly forbids performing exorcisms.”

“Yes, but I'm excommunicated, aren't I? So, really, what have I got to lose?” 

“Has the entire world gone mad?” Aunt Zelda asks.

“Yes.” You reply as though you were stating the obvious. You don’t take your eyes off Ms. Wardwell.

“None of you are ordained!” Aunt Zelda says.

“Unlike the Catholic exorcism, which draws its potency not on the priest performing it, but from the False God, Edward's rite relies on the power of the individual witch challenging the demon, and on the continuum of witches that predates us all.” Ms. Wardwell replies.

“Well, in that case, Ms. Wardwell, what are we waiting for?” Sabrina asks. Ms. Wardwell and Aunt Hilda stand up.

“Sabrina, you can't possibly trust this stranger, can you?” Aunt Zelda says in desperation as she walks closer to you and places an arm on your shoulder.

“I don't see what other choice I have, Aunt Z.” The three of them stare at you and Aunt Zelda. You watch them leave and Aunt Zelda pulls you closer to her. Once they leave the house, Aunt Zelda looks at you and sighs agitatedly as she lets go of you.

“Follow me.” She says gruffly.

“Where are we going?”

“Nowhere, but I’m not letting you out of my sight. You’re not leaving this house.”

“Are you that afraid that I’ll leave to be with Sabrina and Aunt Hilda and that woman?”

“I know you, Y/N. You’re as bad as Sabrina, but with different intentions.”

“I’m not sure if that’s an insult or a compliment.” You mumble. You sit on the stairs as Aunt Zelda beings to pace.

“I can’t believe the things that spinster said to me!” She complains to herself. She turns her attention to you. “You defended your family. That’s a good girl.” She says.

“I’m getting some mixed signals.” You say, furrowing your brow as she goes back to pacing.

“I’m upset that you were going to go along with your sister’s antics. But I’m proud of you for standing up for your family.” She says.

“You’re also worried about Sabrina.” You add. She glares at you. You watch as the fingers on her hand twitch without a cigarette to calm her nerves. Ambrose appears from the basement with no shirt on and a card in his hand. You notice she’s not paying attention to you and you carefully and quietly make your way to the top of the staircase.

“I ran Lady Blackwood's urine sample for you, Auntie Z.” Ambrose says. “Interesting results.” He holds the card out to her. She takes it.

“For the love of Satan, what have I done to deserve these women in my life?” Aunt Zelda says, not listening to him.

“You're lucky, I suppose,” Ambrose says.

“I refuse to put the safety of my niece in the hands of a spinster schoolmarm and a British batwit.” Aunt Zelda huff anxiously. “They'll get her killed.” 

“Not if you help us, we won't.” You say to her. She and Ambrose look up at you.

“What?” She looks at you in shock. “Y/N, no!” She yells as you, rushing up the stairs.

“I’m going to help my sister. Our magic is stronger when we’re together and she’s going to need all the help she can get.” You say as you teleport to Susie’s house. Aunt Zelda is inches from you as you.

“Y/N, no!” You hear her yell before you appear in Susie’s house.

“You came,” Sabrina says to you.

“Of course.” You smile. Aunt Hilda smiles at you. The four of you enter the bedroom.

“How lovely.” The demon says gruffly as you enter. “You're back. And you brought your friends. Four little piggies, all pink and plump and ripe for eating.”

“Hush, demon.” Aunt Hilda says, trying to sound stern.

“We went to the mines last night. And found out your real name.” Sabrina says.

“Apophis. Devouring Worm.” Everyone says. The demon grunts in reply.

“The Putnams could return at any moment. We should begin.” Ms. Wardwell says.

“There's nothing you can do. You have no authority over me, witches.”

“Speak with a loud, clear voice, girls.” Ms. Wardwell instructs as she hands the two of you a book.

“Always,” Sabrina whispers. The demon growls as the two of you join hands, each using your free hand to hold a side of the book. 

“We call forth the witches from the shade. Those who came before us, and died, so that we might live.” The two of you read.

“Visit us, Sisters. Intercede on our behalf.” All four of you chant. The candles in the room suddenly burst into strong flames.

“That's rich. You're not even witches,” the demon says as she candles die back down, “barely half-witches.” The demon laughs.

“We call forth the powers of Lilith of Aradia, of Morgan le Fay.” You notice that the candles show the power struggle between the two of you and the demon as you chant.

“Visit us, Sisters. Intercede on our behalf.” Everyone chants.

“I'm going to eat all your little friends, one by one.”

“I call on Black Annis,” Sabrina says over the demon.

“I call on Anne Boleyn.” You say.

“I call on the Witch of Endor.” You both say.

“Visit us, Sisters. Intercede on our behalf.” Everyone says. The demon rises up, held only be the ropes that held his body to the bed. Thunder erupts outside.

“I call on Hecate,” you say.

“on Artemis,”

“on Luna to expel this demon. Expel Apophis. Return him to the Dark Lord.” You both say.

“Visit us, Sisters. Intercede on our behalf.” Everyone chants.

“I call on Hildegard of Bingen,” Sabrina says.

“I call Marie Laveau.” You say.

“I call Tituba,”

“I call Mary Bradbury.” You notice that the demon breaks one of the ropes holding his arm.

“Visit us, Sisters. Intercede on our behalf.”

“I call Nehman,”

“Badb,” the demon frees his other arm.

“Macha,”

“Visit us, Sisters. Intercede on our behalf.” Thunder crashes again

“It's not working!” Sabrina whispers.

“Keep going! Energies are gathering, you can feel them. Keep going! Keep going! Keep going!”

“I call Circe,”

“I call Moll Dyer.”

“Visit us, Sisters. Intercede on our behalf.” The demon lunges at the four of you. Sabrina and Aunt Hilda scream.

“Dirty, unclean mongrels!” The demon yells at you. 

“Don't listen to it!” Aunt Hilda says.

“Psychological attacks.” Ms. Wardwell whispers.

“You're polluted things.” The demon says.

“You’re no better!” You yell.

“I call on Juventas, the virgin,” Sabrina says. The demon lunges again. Aunt Hilda drags you and Sabrina backward.

“on Juno, the mother,” You say.

“Your parents died because of you.” The demon stares at the two of you, foam dripping from his mouth. The shutters on the windows begin to bang against the house. “Because you're impure half-breeds.” Thunder shakes the earth as Sabrina lets go of your hand and you let go of the book. You move to the opposite side of Aunt Hilda as she grabs Sabrina protectively. You grab her free arm, knowing that if something goes wrong, Aunt Hilda is holding onto Sabrina so as long as you’re holding onto her, you can teleport the three of you out of the room.

“Lend us your power. Expel the demon.” Sabrina says, obviously shaken by the demon’s words.

“Visit us, Sisters. Intercede on our behalf.” Everyone says.

“Something's wrong!” You say.

“We’re not strong enough!” Sabrina yells. Suddenly, the bedroom door bursts open.

“Yes, you are!” Aunt Zelda yells as she rushes into the room. “I call upon Cybil Leek!” She holds one hand out towards the demon and holds onto you with the other. “I call upon Priscilla Spellman! I call upon Francis Spellman. I call upon Evanora and Locasta Spellman!” She yells. “Continue, twins!”

“Come forth, Kindly Ones. Come forth, Mother of Darkness. Lend us your power. Expel the demon Apophis!” You and Sabrina say.

“Visit us, Sisters. Intercede on our behalf. Visit us, Sisters. Intercede on our behalf.” The demon falls back onto the bed. “Visit us, Sisters. Intercede on our behalf.” You all begin to throw salt at him. It burns him like table salt burns a slug. “Visit us, Sisters. Intercede on our behalf.”

“Thar she blows.” Aunt Hilda mumbles. You watch as something makes its way through the man’s body. He suddenly throws up blood, causing Aunt Hilda to pull Sabrina back and Aunt Zelda to pull you back in alarm. The man then throws up the demon along with more blood.

“Is it-is it over?” Aunt Hilda asks.

“I don't know.” Ms. Wardwell says. The demon growls. You and Sabrina move towards it.

“Girls, don't.” Aunt Zelda says. She grabs your arm, preventing you from getting close to it. But you can still see the worm-like creature wriggling on the floor.

“Apophis, Devouring Worm,” Sabrina whispers. “Now what?” You pull out of Aunt Zelda’s grasp.

“I say we just stomp on it like a regular worm.” You walk towards it but Ms. Wardwell stops you. You sigh as she gently pushes Sabrina aside and grabs a blanket off the bed. She wraps the worm in the blanket and rushes out of the house. The two of you quickly follow behind you and Aunt Zelda and Aunt Hilda follow behind you. Ms. Wardwell throws the demon into a nearby well. You hear it splash as it falls into the water.

“The stone seal, Sabrina.” Ms. Wardwell pants. Sabrina pulls the pieces of the stone out of her bag. You both throw a piece into the water. You all stare into the well for a moment before Sabrina speaks.

“And you really don't think it can get back up, Ms. Wardwell?”

“Not with that seal in there. And not in the state it was in. No, that worm will burrow its way back to hell where it belongs.” You all look in the well again.

“What about Uncle Jesse?” Sabrina asks.

“Unconscious.” Aunt Hilda says. “He'll be weak for a while, I imagine. But he's alive, thanks to you two.”

“Thanks to all of us,” Sabrina says. “Including you, Aunt Zee.”

“What made you change your mind?” You ask her.

“The first witch exorcism ever performed. That seemed like something I should witness first-hand. If only for educational purposes.” She says proudly.

“That’s ‘I was incredibly worried’ in Zelda.” You smile. She glares at you. You hug her as your smile turns into a smirk. “Thank you for saving us, again.” 

“Don't get too big for your britches, girls. Sabrina. You're grounded.”

“Grounded?” Sabrina asks.

“A mortal punishment for interfering with mortal affairs.” She states. “And for you,” she turns to you as she peels you off her. “No magic for a week.”

“No magic?”

“A witch punishment for playing a part in the mess a witch created and disobeying me.”

“Want to trade punishments?” You ask Sabrina.

“Don't know about you four, but I could do with a nice, hot cup of tea.” Aunt Hilda interrupts.

“Oh, yes. Let's go home.” Aunt Zelda sighs.

“Ms. Wardwell, will you join us?” Sabrina asks her.

“Oh, no, no.” She chuckles. “I've intruded enough for one day.”

“More than enough for a lifetime.” You reply.

“I should go.” She says, ignoring you.

“I think that's best, yes.” Aunt Zelda says.

“But I'll see you bright and early in the morning for homeroom.” Ms. Wardwell turns to leave.

“Ms. Wardwell?” Sabrina says. Ms. Wardwell turns around to face her. “Thank you.” Ms. Wardwell nods in reply before walking away. Aunt Zelda teleports you, Aunt Hilda, Sabrina, and herself to the edge of the front yard. The four of you walk to the house in silence.

“Aunties? We have company.” Ambrose says as you enter the house.

“Father Blackwood.” Aunt Zelda says as you all enter the parlor. “To what do we owe the honor of this visit?” She smiles flirtatiously.

“It has come to my attention, Sister Zelda, that you, Y/N, Sabrina, and your excommunicated sister have just performed an unauthorized exorcism.”

“Word travels fast amongst the damned, it seems.” She replies, glancing at Ambrose.

“For the record, I did not inform him. His Excellency had an inkling and humbled us with a visit.” Ambrose says quickly. Father Blackwood stands.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn't excommunicate the pack of you.” He threatens Aunt Zelda. You glance at Aunt Hilda.

“I can give you two.” Aunt Zelda says warningly as she walks towards him. “Earlier today, I received the results of your wife's tests. Congratulations, Father Blackwood. Constance is expecting twins.”

“Twins?” He asks.

“Twins,” you and Sabrina say, linking arms.

“Double the toil and trouble,” you grin.

“Yes,” Aunt Zelda says flatly as she steps between you and Sabrina, separating the two of you, “it's good news. However, it may be a difficult pregnancy. Not to worry, though, I'll be tending to her every need. Unless, of course, you feel I, or any members of my family,” she places an arm around you and an arm around Sabrina as she glances at Aunt Hilda, “are unworthy in some way.” He stares at her for a moment. 

“No, of course not.” He forces himself to say. “Goodnight.” He says simply.

“Goodnight Father Blackwood.” You and Sabrina say in unison.

“It’s time for bed, girls.” Aunt Hilda says. The two of you go upstairs and start your nightly ritual of getting into bed, waiting a few minutes, having Aunt Hilda tuck you both in, and eventually falling asleep. When you wake up the next morning, something feels off. You quickly walk downstairs with Sabrina behind you. The phone rings and Aunt Hilda answers it.

“Spellman Sisters Mortuary, how may I assist you?” Aunt Hilda says. “Oh, Mr. Putnam! I'm so sorry to hear that. Yeah. Of course. Just come when you can, and we'll be here.”

“Wait, what happened?” Sabrina asks.

“Jesse passed. Sometime during the night. His, his poor heart gave out.”

“Oh, no,” Sabrina whispers.

“We did all of that work and put everyone in danger for nothing.” You say defeatedly. You didn’t really care about the mortal, but you hated that your efforts to save him were in vain. “I’ll be in the study.” You say before walking away. You quickly close yourself in the room and look around for something to read. You look towards the top of one of the bookshelves and see a book shoved between the ceiling and the top of the bookshelf. You climb up the shelves and grab the book, dust falling off the book like snow and landing on your face, causing your eyes to burn and your nose to itch. You climb back down, sit in a chair, and open the book. It’s an old medical journal. You notice the handwriting looks like Aunt Zelda’s. As you skim the pages, you find information about babies and pregnancies that Aunt Zelda observed and took part in. Maybe it will tell you about the baby that almost died. You look at the dates in the book, they’re all from many centuries ago. You look towards the back of the book to see when she stopped writing in it. You see an entry from a few years ago in it, just after you and Sabrina were born.

“Y/N, Susie is here. It would be polite of you to say hello.” Aunt Zelda says, poking her head into the study before you can read the entry. She notices the book in your hand. “I see you found an old medical journal of mine.”

“I did. It’s quite fascinating.” You say, setting the journal in the chair as you walk out of the study.

“Susie is outside.” She says.

“Thank-you.” You say. You walk outside to see Susie and Sabrina sitting together in the back of Susie’s Dad’s truck. Susie is wearing a dress, which is unusual for her.

“I'm so sorry about your uncle, Susie. Really. I-I can't believe it.” Sabrina says.

“Yes, I’m sorry for your loss.” You say as you sit on the opposite side of Susie.

“My dad and I visited the place where we were gonna send him. The asylum. Honestly, maybe it's better. He would've rotted in there. At least, at least he's free now. You know?”

“I guess so. Susie, I don't think I've ever seen you in a dress before.” Sabrina changes the subject.

“I'm not an abomination, Sabrina, and I won't be one,” Susie says shakily. 

“What?” Sabrina gives her a confused look. “Of course not. Why, why are you saying that?”

“Forget it. It doesn't matter.” She says before standing up and walking into the house.

“Personally, I thought she looked beautiful.” You say. “For a mortal. She’s no Lady Blackwood or Zelda Spellman.” You add. “She’s rather bland and plain, but with some work, she could be charming.”

“That’s not nice,” Sabrina says, glaring at you.

“I don’t know if you’ve realized this yet, but I’m not nice.” You retort. There’s a moment of silence. “We should get to school.” You say.

“Yeah, we should.” She replies. The two of you go into the house and get your bags. You quickly go into the study and grab the medical journal from the chair and shove it in your bag. You say your goodbyes to your aunts and leave the house. You don’t pay much attention in school. During lunch you hide in the library and look through the journal, looking at what Aunt Zelda wrote. You look through the journal looking for a report on the baby that almost died. Even though the journal covered many centuries, there is nothing about a baby being harmed by a potion. When you reach, the pages about the first few years of your life and Sabrina’s, you notice that they’re gone. They have been ripped out of the journal. They were just there this morning when you found the journal. You don’t think much of it and toss the journal back into your bag and head to your next class. As you listen to the science teacher, you realize why the pages were ripped out and everything makes sense. You feel antsy during the rest of the class and the final class of the day.

“I’m going to talk to Ms. Wardwell,” Sabrina says when the final bell rings.

“Want me to come?” You ask, somewhat lost in thought.

“No, I want to do it alone.”

“Good, because I want to have a conversation with Aunt Zelda.” You reply before teleporting home. You arrive in the kitchen where Aunt Zelda is reading the newspaper. You sit across from her and watch her. After a few moments, she looks up at you and sets her paper down.

“Is there something you want to say?” She asks. You know she expects an apology for the previous night. 

“I was the baby.” You reply. Shock flashes on her face but quickly disappears as she forces herself to recover.

“What are you talking about?” She scoffs.

“I was the baby you gave that bad potion to. The baby that almost died.” You say, looking into her green eyes. “I took the medical journal to school. There’s no report of a baby being harmed by a potion. I saw mine and Sabina’s records. I didn’t get to read them. But I saw them in there and somehow between the time you got me out of the study and I returned after talking to Susie, the section, and only the section about Sabrina and I, is gone. Ripped out of the book.”

“Y/N, I really don’t want to discuss this.” She quickly stands up and begins to leave.

“That’s fine. But at least tell me if I’m right.” You say as you grab her arm as she passes by you. She doesn’t look at you and you don’t look at her. “It wasn’t centuries ago. It was sixteen years ago, wasn’t it? I was that baby, wasn’t I? That’s why I get tired easier than Sabrina does when it comes to magic and why I have a horrible immune system, isn’t it?” There is a moment of pregnant silence between the two of you. You let go of her arm, losing hope that she’ll tell you. She stands beside you for a moment before she finally speaks.

“I’m sorry, Y/N.” She whispers before quickly leaving the room.


	13. Chapter 7 Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it's taken so long to upload! I've been a lot busier than I expected this summer with my job and school. This chapter also had a LOT more to it than me other chapters and that took a lot longer than I expected to write. Also, I do not speak French, I used a translator so I'm sorry if the translations came out weird. The English translations are at the end!

You sit in silence as you hear Aunt Zelda’s footsteps fade away as she gets farther from you. You close your eyes and sit in silence for a moment. You place your elbows on the table and bury your face in your hands, too shocked to cry. You’ve never hated being right so much before. You’re angry at yourself, but at the same time, you’re also so confused. Since Aunt Zelda only mentioned one baby being sick from a potion, Sabrina couldn’t have been given the same potion. Why didn’t Aunt Zelda tell you what happened? Why wasn’t Sabrina also affected? Why did it become some big secret? You take a breath and leave the kitchen. You go downstairs to the only person who can help you: Ambrose. You stand in front of his bedroom door for a moment before knocking softly. You hope he doesn’t hear you.

“Come in.” You hear his voice say from the other side of the door. You slowly open it and step inside, closing the door behind you. “Someone has learned to knock!” He smirks as he throws a rope on, not really bothering to cover his shirtless torso. You don’t reply and his face falls. Usually, you have some kind of comeback for him. “Are you alright, cousin?”

“I know.” You say shakily. “I know the truth.”

“The truth about what?” He asks, sitting on his bed.

“I was the baby Aunt Zelda almost killed with a potion.” You say, finally looking at him. His face goes from concerned to sympathetic. He motions for you to join him.

“Tell me what happened.” He sighs.

“Not until you put on a shirt.” You say. Seeing your cousin shirtless is always awkward. Sitting on a bed with him while he’s not wearing a shirt is even more awkward. He sighs and takes off his robe and puts on a shirt. You sit beside him and look at your hands. “When I was helping with Lady Blackwood’s examination, I noticed Aunt Zelda’s hands were shaking while she was making a potion. I asked her about it and she said she once made a mistake in a potion and didn’t realize it until after she gave it to a baby and the baby almost died. But she wouldn’t tell me who it was or anything else about it. Then I found one of her medical journals and left it in the study for a while before taking it to school. I saw that some of the pages that were there when I found it, pages about Sabrina and I, were suddenly gone when I looked at it at school. Aunt Zelda and Aunt Hilda have mentioned that I’m not as strong health wise as Sabrina, so I put two and two together. I’m not as strong because of the potion Aunt Zelda gave me that almost killed me. When I confronted her about it, she just said she was sorry.” Tears finally well up in your eyes. “She couldn’t even look at me, Ambrose. She probably hates me now that I’ve found out.” Ambrose sighs as he wraps an arm around you.

“Cousin, you and I both know our auntie. She hates many things. Mortals, stupidity, Sabrina’s nonsense, that teacher who was here the other day, the mess left behind from killing Aunt Hilda, necromancy…” He trails off, losing his train of thought for a moment. “My point is, Aunt Zelda hates a lot of things, but her family isn’t one of those things. She’s adored you since you were born. She didn’t want anything to do with Uncle Edward’s marriage to Aunt Diana until you and Sabrina were born.”

“Feelings can change.” You say quietly.

“Not Zelda Spellman’s. She can hold a grudge for centuries just to prove she can. Who do you think caused the ‘shot heard around the world’?” He smiles. “Aunt Zelda was mad at Aunt Hilda over a broken doll in their childhood and found a new toy left behind by a soldier.” You try to hold back a small smile knowing that Aunt Zelda and Aunt Hilda would have already been a few hundred years old at the time. 

“But I really messed up, Ambrose.” You sigh as you lean into him. “What if she doesn’t forgive me? What if she really does hate me?”

“You’ve already messed up several times, last night when you ran away being one of them. But Aunt Zelda didn’t hate you for it. She instead grounded you and that was it. Why would this time be any different?”

“Because I discovered a part of her past that she wanted to forget, a part of her past she didn’t want me to know about.”

“Cousin, it’s not like you were trying to hurt her. This is more than just you discovering a part of her past. This is you discovering a part of your past. One no one had ever told you about. What is the crime in that?”

“It wasn’t a crime, but there is still a price to be paid.”

“Everything has a price, cousin.” Ambrose sighs. “But sometimes the price is only temporary. Why don’t you give Aunt Zelda some time to calm down and get her senses back and see what happens? She’s caught off guard and she hates that. Let her figure out what she wants to do and approach you. Don’t force her into a corner.”

“Thank-you Ambrose. You’re pretty smart for the fourth smartest Spellman.” You say with a smile.

“Fourth smartest?” He asks playfully. “Don’t you mean first smartest?”

“No, obviously Aunt Zelda is the smartest. Then me, Aunt Hilda, you, and Sabrina.” 

“I think you’ve got it mixed up, cousin. I am far smarter than you.”

“I don’t think you are.” 

“Oh, I’m certain I am.”

“I’m certain you’re not.” 

“If I wasn’t, why did you come to me?”

“Because Aunt Zelda is my go-to. Aunt Hilda shouldn’t know about this unless Aunt Zelda tells her so I can’t go to her. Sabrina is the last person to bring any kind of secret to. I was kind of out of options.”

“That’s a lie and you know it, cousin.” He smirks. “Look, I’ve known our auntie far longer than you have, I’ve been stuck in this house with her for over seventy years. There are three things that are extremely important to her. Her family, her church, and her dignity. She will probably be aloof and grumpy for a while, but she’ll come back around.”

“Thank-you, Ambrose.”

“You’re welcome. Now, who is your favorite cousin?” You roll your eyes at him and leave his room. You decide to follow his advice and let Aunt Zelda come to you when she’s ready to. You go up to your room and wait for Sabrina.

“How’d your talk with Aunt Z go?” Sabrina asks you when she gets home and walks into your room. 

“It went okay. She’s mad at me, but that’s expected.” You say with a shrug.

“What did you talk about?” She asks as she tosses her bag on her bed.

“It was just a question I had about when we were little.”

“Why would she be mad about that?”

“It was a question about our mother.”

“What was it?” She presses.

“I asked her why Mother called me Starlight.” You lie, trying to think of something to get her off your back.

“And she was mad about that?”

“She doesn’t really like talking about Mother and Father and I did kind of catch her off guard.”

“Aunt Zelda isn’t one to get mad at you though.”

“You should have seen her yesterday when I teleported to Susie’s house.” You force a laugh, trying to change the subject.

“How do you feel about Susie’s uncle?” She asks, sitting on your bed and facing you.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean we went through all that work and effort and in the end, he died anyway.” You can tell it’s been bugging her. You place your hands on her shoulders and look into her eyes. It’s times like this you wish you weren’t identical.

“We did lose Susie’s uncle. But our work was not for nothing. We may have lost one useless mortal life, but in the process, we saved many other useless mortal lives. Had the demon not been dealt with, it would have gone on to your mortal friends and then to their friends or families and caused more death and destruction.”

“I know, but I just wish we could have saved him.”

“Sabrina, we’re half witches. We’re not the Dark Lord. We don’t have that kind of power. And we’re only sixteen. There’s so much we don’t know yet. Who knows, maybe someday we’ll have to do another exorcism and maybe we can save that person.”

“Maybe.” She says quietly. You pull her into a hug.

“We’re only two kids, Sabrina. We’re limited on what we can do right now because we’re young and inexperienced. We’re not meant to be as strong as Aunt Hilda or Aunt Zelda yet. If we were, they’d be in trouble.”

“I know. I just wish we could have done more.”

“Did you do everything you could do? Did you put everything you had into the exorcism?” You ask seriously as you let go of her.

“Of course.” 

“I did too. So did Aunt Hilda and so did Ms. Wardwell and so did Aunt Zelda. Everyone put everything they had into that exorcism. That’s all we can ever ask for is that we put our all into everything we do.” Silence falls between the two of you. 

“Do you feel any remorse at all about his death?” She asks quietly. You look at her in surprise for a moment.

“I don’t like mortals. I prefer to stay away from them. Why bother with a creature that will never be able to understand you or what you are? But I know that a life is still a life be it mortal or witch. I do regret that the mortal died, and I do wish that there was something we could have done to save him. But the truth is there wasn’t. We did everything we could and we used everything we had. We used the two strongest witches in our arsenal. We banished the demon and prevented your mortals from getting hurt. It doesn’t stop the guilt I feel, but it does help lessen it.” Sabrina nods in response.

“You should listen to your sister.” Aunt Hilda says from the doorway, causing the two of you to jump. Neither of you were aware of her presence. “I don’t know what it is, maybe all the books or her father’s influence, but she’s wise beyond her years.” You feel somewhat embarrassed knowing that Aunt Hilda heard everything you had said.

“How long have you been standing there?” Sabrina asks with a small smile.

“From ‘how do you feel about Susie’s uncle’ to right now.” Aunt Hilda smiles innocently. “Supper is ready, loves. Come downstairs when you’ve finished your little sister chat.” She says before leaving the two of you.

“I feel like she was standing there longer than she says she was.” You whisper. 

“So what? It’s not like she heard some kind of huge secret.” Sabrina smiles as she stands up. 

“It’s still annoying.” You say slowly as you stand. The two of you walk downstairs to the kitchen. Aunt Hilda is placing plates around the table and Aunt Zelda is sitting in her seat, her face hidden by a newspaper written in Spanish, as the occasional puff of cigarette smokes appears above the paper. You and Sabrina take your seats.

“Hello, everyone.” Ambrose smiles as he enters the room, his robe flowing behind him. He grabs a plate from the table and piles it with food before going to sit on the kitchen counter. 

“Hey, Ambrose.” Sabrina mumbles.

“Hello, love.” Aunt Hilda hums. You and Aunt Zelda are silent. You stare at the newspaper as Aunt Hilda fills your plate with food. “Staring at it won’t make it go away.” Aunt Hilda whispers in your ear. When she finishes serving everyone, she fills her own plate and sits down. She also looks at Aunt Zelda for a moment. “Erm, Zelda, dear, will you be joining us or are you just going to pretend to read your paper and smoke like a chimney?” The newspaper quickly falls and Aunt Zelda glares at her sister. The five of you begin to eat supper in tense silence. 

“Have you started working on Susie’s uncle yet?” Sabrina asks Ambrose.

“Not much work to be done I’m afraid.” He says somewhat somberly. “They chose to have a closed casket.”

“I’m not eating long pig.” You say. “Especially from that body.” You try to push the image of the man’s bloated and bloody body out of your mind.

“We’re not having long pig from a corpse that’s been possessed. It rots the meat.” Aunt Zelda says quickly, obviously not in a talking mood.

“Right, how was school?” Aunt Hilda changes the subject.

“It was boring.” You shrug. 

“It was not! We’re learning about the American Revolution and the shot heard around the world.” Sabrina says. You and Ambrose share a look and Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda share a similar one.

“They say they never found out who shot the gun.” You say, looking at Aunt Zelda, who raises her eyebrows as she takes a sip of her drink.

“I did. Mystery solved.” She says as she sets the crystal cup down.

“Why did you…” Sabrina asks before her eyes find Aunt Hilda, who is touching the side of her head, remembering the wound.

“Yes, newer guns do a better job at killing than those rotten boomsticks.” Aunt Hilda mumbles.

“Boomsticks?” You smile. “Is that what you called them?” You can’t help but laugh. “How did you even get a gun back then?”

“Tu es trop jeune pour comprendre.” Aunt Zelda says in perfect French, still avoiding your eyes.

“Je ne suis pas, tante Zelda.” You reply in not so perfect French, trying to get Aunt Zelda’s attention. Aunt Hilda and Sabrina give each other blank looks. Neither of them can speak French and unless it’s an incantation, Ambrose has no idea what is being said. Aunt Zelda is fluent in French, among other languages. You are fluent in several languages yourself, but French is a newer one you’re learning.

“No foreign languages at the table!” Sabrina says with a smile. 

“Obtenez sur notre niveau, Sabrina.” You smirk. You glance at Aunt Zelda to see her face, but she is taking a drink out of her glass. You think she’s doing it to hide the smile on her face, but you’re not sure. Ambrose quickly finishes his supper, tosses his plate in the sink, and leaves the kitchen. Sabrina soon does the same.

“I’m going to do some homework and go to bed,” Sabrina says with a yawn.

“Alright love, don’t stay up too late.” Aunt Hilda says. 

“Yes, Auntie,” Sabrina says as she leaves the kitchen. Aunt Hilda is the next one to leave, leaving you and Aunt Zelda alone. You pick at your food in silence, hoping Aunt Zelda will speak to you. Five minutes pass by, then ten, then fifteen. You poke at the food on your plate some more. You stare at Aunt Zelda to see if she’ll stare back. But she doesn’t. She finishes her supper and puts her plate in the sink to be washed. She turns on the water and begins to fill the sink. You scrape the food from your plate into the trash and place the plate in the sink.

“Would you like some help with the dishes?” You ask, hoping she will take advantage of the time alone with you.

“No, thank-you.” Aunt Zelda says, still not looking at you.

“Okay.” You whisper as you slowly walk out of the kitchen and up to your room. You hope that Aunt Zelda will call for you at some point, but she never does. Instead, Sabrina does her homework and goes to bed while you spin into your pajamas and lie on top of your own bed, too awake to fall asleep but too tired to do anything productive. You stare at the ceiling until Sabrina turns off the light. Then you stare into the darkness as you hear Aunt Hilda walk towards your room. She stops at the doorway and looks in.

“Are you still awake?” She whispers to you.

“Yes, Auntie.” You say back.

“Get some rest, love. You’ve got school tomorrow.” 

“I know. I just can’t sleep.”

“Something troubling you, love?”

“Yes, but it’s nothing you can help with.” You sigh as you sit up and look at her.

“Are you in love with a mortal and afraid Zelds will find out?”

“What? Gross, of course I’m not in love with a mortal.” You say, wrinkling your nose at the idea. “It’s just nonsense that’ll probably sort itself out in a few days.”

“If you say so. But if you ever have an issue you don’t think you can come to your Aunt Zelda with, I am always open.”

“I know you are.” You smile slightly to her. “And I’m grateful you are.” A smile forms on Aunt Hilda’s face. 

“If you need anything, I’ll be in my room for the night.” 

“Thank-you, Auntie.” You reply as Aunt Hilda walks away. You hear her bedroom door close. You lie back down and stare into the darkness. You let your mind wander for a few more hours. Just as you start to drift off to sleep, you hear Aunt Zelda’s footsteps walk toward your room. She looks into the room to see if you and Sabrina are asleep yet. “Aunt Zelda…” You mumble to her before falling asleep. Sabrina wakes you up the next morning and the two of you quickly get ready for school.

“We’re walking to school today,” Sabrina says to you as you rush downstairs with your bag on your shoulder. 

“No mortal lover? Awesome.” You smile at her. 

“He’s not a lover!” She laughs.

“He’s definitely not a friend with the way you make out with him!” You shout as she begins to chase after you.

“Shut up!” She grins.

“You shut up!” You laugh.

“I told you to!”

“I’m telling both of you to sit down.” Aunt Hilda says with a smile as the two of you run into the kitchen. “I see you’re both in good moods today.”

“It just seems like a good day.” You smile as you and Sabrina sit at the table. You notice an absence of cigarette smoke, bitterness, and a judging glare in the kitchen. “Where is Aunt Zelda?” You ask. 

“She’s preparing for the funeral today. You girls are more than welcome to stay for it if you want.”

“It would be rude of us to attend.” You say. “We didn’t know Susie’s uncle and it seems wrong of us to be there.”

“But we should be there to support Susie,” Sabrina argues.

“No, Susie didn’t ask us to come to the funeral. We should let her be. If it were Aunt Hilda’s or Aunt Zelda’s funeral, I wouldn’t want any of my friends there.”

“What friends? You don’t have friends.”

“That’s not the point. When someone you’re close to dies, you don’t want everyone to see the pain and heartbreak. It’s best to just let her come to you when she’s ready to talk.” Sabrina nods in reply. The two of you quickly eat your breakfast.

“Stay out of trouble today, girls.” Aunt Hilda says as the two of you gather your bags and head to the front door.

“We’ll try!” Sabrina calls back as she puts on her coat.

“But we can’t make any promises.” You call as you reach for your own coat. You look at the coatrack. Your coat isn’t there. “Aunt Hilda, have you seen my coat?” You ask.

“The red one with the hood?”

“Yes,”

“It’s in the wash, love. Just wear another coat.” You feel nervous wearing a different coat to mortal school, you’ve never gone to mortal school without your coat. You grab a jacket off the coat rack and put it on. 

“Do you want my coat?” Sabrina asks, sensing your unease.

“No, I’ll be fine. Besides, I like my coat better.” You force a smile. Sabrina rolls her eyes as the two of you walk to school in happy silence.

“Hey,” Harvey smiles to the two of you when you reach the school. Sabrina kisses him.

“Gross. You say at the sight. “Isn’t there a rule about kissing in public?”

“Isn’t there a rule about being a snitch?” 

“Isn’t there a rule about being rude to your sister?” You begin to playfully argue with Sabrina as the three of you walk down the school hallways.

“Isn’t there a rule about annoying your sister?” 

“Isn’t there a rule about-”

“That’s enough guys. It’s not even nine yet and you’re already arguing.” Roz says as she joins the three of you.

“She started it.” Sabrina smiles.

“You started it.”

“You started it.”

“You started it.”

“I started it!” Harvey says, becoming somewhat annoyed.

“You’re right.” You smile. “Your existence did start it.”

“That not what I-”

“I’ll be in the library. See you in class, Sabrina.” You say before leaving the group. You walk into the library and begin to look at the books, hoping to find something to read. 

“Are you looking for anything specific?” A librarian asks you.

“Something interesting.” You say.

“What would you define as interesting?”

“Well, I’m currently teaching myself Latin, so preferably something in Latin. However, I can read books in English, Japanese, and Spanish. French is a little touchy, and Scandinavian. Do you have anything in those languages?” The librarian stares at you for a moment.

“I, uh, I meant genre-wise.”

“I like horror. I’m a fan of the darker novels, like the ones where there’s a twist you don’t expect coming at the end or the ones that are never happy. But I prefer educational books overall. I don’t do romance.”

“How about this?” The librarian walks you over to a far corner of the library and pulls a book from the top of the shelf. 

“Edgar Allen Poe?”

“He’s known for darker things.” 

“I’ve read him before. I read his stuff when I was like three. It wasn’t all that impressive.”

“Try reading it again and see if you like it.” Before you can protest, the bell rings, letting you know it’s almost time for class. You take the book with you and start your school day. Your first two classes are boring, as normal. Lunch, however, is where it gets more interesting. 

“Want to join Harvey, Roz, and I?” Sabrina asks as the bell dismisses you all for lunch.

“No, I think I’m going to look into this book the librarian gave me.” You reply, holding up the red book.

“You really should try to make some friends here,” Sabrina says as the two of you stand up and head out of the classroom.

“Why? I’ll outlive them all within the next century anyway.” You reply.

“It’s not about how long they live, it’s about the experiences you have with them.”

“I’ve had too many experiences with them already.” You reply before leaving your sister and going towards the library.

“Hey look, it’s the freaky Spellman twin!” A boy whispers as you walk down the hall.

“Hey, freak, what are you up to?” Another boy asks as he, the first boy, and two other boys begin to follow you. You recognize them as the boys Sabrina had messed with in the mines.

“Where’s your little red coat, freak?” A third boy asks.

“Leave me alone.” You say, continuing to walk.

“Why? What are you going to do? Send your auntie after us?” You don’t reply. 

“Don’t her aunts own that morgue?” The second boy asks.

“Yeah, be careful or she’ll kill you and her aunts will bury the body!” The fourth boy laughs. The others erupt into laughter.

“My aunts wouldn’t do that.” You reply.

“Why not? Don’t they like you anymore? Or did they finial figure out that you’re worthless?”

“Just leave me alone.” You say, your hands beginning to shake. You play with the necklace Aunt Zelda gave you.

“What do you have?” The boy asks as he grabs your arm and spins you around to face him. You don’t react fast enough to let go of your necklace and the chain breaks off, limply wrapping around your wrist. You stare at the necklace in shock and then at the boy. “What’s this?” He rips the broken necklace from your hand and looks at it. “It’s a little star!” He shows his friends.

“Something as pretty as this shouldn’t be on someone as ugly as you.” The first boy sneers.

“I think we’ll keep it for a while.” The boy with your necklace says as he lets go of you and puts the necklace in his pocket. You feel panic tighten your chest. Your stomach feels like it’s full of rocks. “Aw, is the little freak going to cry?” He teases.

“Give it back!” You yell. “It was a gift from my aunt!” You reach for the boy’s pocket, but he grabs your arm. Another boy grabs your other arm. You struggle and try to get away from them, but they’re stronger than you. Using magic would be a bad idea at this point, not without the protection of your coat and necklace. “Let me go!”

“We will after we have a little fun.” He smirks. The boys around him laugh and they drag you into an empty classroom. They toss you onto the floor. You feel the dirt from the dirty floor scrape your skin.

“Are you ready for a little revenge?” one of the boys asks as he walks up to you. You start to get up, but he places his foot on your back and forces you back to the floor. Your mind races with panic as you try to figure a way out of the situation. 

“Let’s see just how brave you are without someone coming to your rescue.” The first boy says. 

“Here, put this over her eyes and this in her mouth.” The second says. Your eyes go wide as tape is put over your mouth and eyes and some kind of cloth bag is placed over your face. You are in darkness. You can hear and feel but you can’t see. Your nightmare from Batibat flashes in your memory as you try to squirm free form the boy pinning you to the floor. 

“Let’s get this show on the road before someone finds us!” The fourth boy says hurriedly.

“Everyone gets ten kicks or hits. No face, though. We don’t want to catch her ugly.” The first boy says. You hold your breath but when a shoe meets your ribs, you’re forced to let it out through your nose. You desperately try to breath through your nose as the wind is knocked out of you. Another kick to the ribs causes you to try to cry out, but the tape doesn’t allow you to. The air in the cloth bag quickly becomes hot and stale and you begin to sweat. You feel like you’re suffocating as a third, fourth, and fifth kick bashes your ribs. A sixth greets your hip, then one on each ankle, followed by one on each arm. “That’s ten, your turn.” He says to someone else. You try to think of something else as each arm is kicked five times. 

“Who's next?” The third boy asks.

“Me.” The fourth boy says. “Let’s sit her up!” You feel yourself being moved and forced to stand. Someone holds your shoulders to keep you upright. You feel a fist make contact with your stomach and you feel like you’re going to vomit. Then another hit just under your ribs causes you to struggle for air in the already hot and stale bag. After three more hits to the stomach, whoever is holding you still is also holding you up, you are in too much main to remain standing. All you can focus on is the pain and the snickers and laughs of the boys and the sound of their shoes and fists making contact with your body. You can’t even see who is hitting you. You aren’t even allowed to breathe fresh air. You’re spun around as a fist hits your back five times, staring between your shoulder blades and working its way down to your lower back. 

“Alright, last guy. Let’s hurry before someone finds us!” The first boy says. Your arms are held above your head as you feel two fists make contact with both of your sides. You black out before he finishes. When you come to, you immediately open your eyes and try to sit up. Someone grabs you from behind, pinning your arms to your sides. You immediately struggle against them.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s just me.” Sabrina says from behind you.

“What happened to you?” Harvey asks you.

“It was those football boys. I saw them leave the room.” Susie says. Sabrina lets go of you. You see the bag that was placed over your head on the floor with the tape the covered your mouth and eyes. You can see from the classroom window that it is already dark outside.

“We need to tell Principal Hawthorne about this! Those boys have gone too far!” Sabrina says.

“We don’t need to tell anyone anything.” You say. “None of you were involved in this. You’re not involving our aunts, any adults, or parents, or teachers. This is my battle and I’ll handle it myself.”

“You can’t take on four boys by yourself!” Susie says, somewhat impressed by your determination.

“Watch me.” You growl. “They stole from me. I’ll make them pay for what they’ve done.”

“What did they steal?”

“Your necklace is gone. The one Aunt Zelda gave you.” Sabrina says softly.

“I’ll get it back.” You reply. 

“We need to tell Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda about this.”

“I’ll deal with it. It’s my battle. It’s time I grow up and stop relying on our aunts anyway.” You spit. Sabrina gives you an unsure look.

“We need to get you home.”

“I’ll go in a little bit. I’m going to clean myself up so our aunts don’t notice. I’ll catch up with you.” You reply.

“Are you sure?” Sabrina asks.

“Yes.” You say. Sabrina and Harvey quietly leave the classroom, leaving you and Susie by yourselves. 

“It’s okay if you need help,” Susie says after a moment of silence.

“I don’t need help. I’m just fine on my own. I don’t need anyone. I don’t need Sabrina and I don’t need my aunts.” You say as you force yourself to stand, leaning on a desk for support. You hold your right side with your left hand as you try to breathe normally. It hurts to hold your breath and it hurts to breathe, but at least breathing will keep you alive. “I’m just fine on my own.” You say as you start to drag yourself out of the classroom. You stop at the doorway. “Shouldn’t you be at home?” You ask, realizing that Susie shouldn’t be in the school today because of the funeral.

“I just came to pick up my homework when I found you.” She shrugs.

“Thank-you.” You reply before you head to the nearest bathroom. You look at your reflection. Your hair is matted to your face with sweat. You pull off your jacket and lift up your shirt. Bruises have already begun to form on your stomach and sides. You pull your shirt down and roll up the sleeves, they’re starting to bruise as well. You look around to make sure no one is in the bathroom with you and allow the tears you had been holding back to fall. You’re embarrassed at being beaten up by four mortals. You’re angry at them for taking your necklace. You feel weak and helpless and stupid. You can’t even manage to handle a few mortals by yourself. After a few minutes, your tears and anger and embarrassment turn into tears of loneliness and abandonment. You know you can’t tell Aunt Zelda what happened. She’s too busy avoiding you. You feel alone. Sabrina can’t understand what you’re dealing with. Aunt Zelda ignoring her never really bothered her. And she was never beaten up by mortals. You feel like Aunt Zelda abandoned you in a way, she’s never ignored you before.

Once your tears have finished falling, you compose yourself and quickly spin, your hair becoming dry and clean and your face looking as though you hadn’t been crying or had tape on your face or a bag covering your head.  
“I need to learn how to heal.” You whisper to yourself as you roll down your sleeves, slowly put your jacket on. You look at your reflection again. With your clothes on and your hair in place, you look normal. You stare at yourself for a while, taking in how normal you look with your clothes on but how broken you look without them. It’s almost like a reflection of how you feel inside. You look normal outside, but inside you’re hurt and angry and confused and you don’t understand. You want nothing more than to go home and tell Aunt Zelda what happened. But you can’t and you know you can’t. Aunt Zelda probably hates you for figuring out her secret. You feel alone. You’ve always run to Aunt Zelda for any and every issue you have that didn’t involve her, but this time you can’t. You stare at your reflection for a few more minutes before you gather your things and leave the school. It’s already dark outside with no sign of the sun. That’s something you hate about the fall; it gets darker so much earlier and you hate being outside in the dark on your own. You teleport to Sabrina’s location and appear a few feet behind her. You can hear her talking to Harvey.

“I told you I’d catch up.” You say, limping beside your sister.

“Harvey and I were just talking about how nice it was to be walking home, just the two of us.” She says.

“How lovely.” You roll your eyes pretending to not notice her obvious hint.

“So, what are you guys doing for Thanksgiving?” Harvey asks, changing the subject.

“It's not that big a holiday for us. Aunt Hilda and I watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in the morning, and Aunt Z watches whatever football games are on.”

“Your Aunt Zelda's a football fan?”

“All contact sports,” Sabrina replies with a sigh. Aunt Zelda doesn’t care too much about football unless someone gets hurt and they show it on TV. She really just watches it so she doesn’t have to listen to Sabrina and Aunt Hilda watch every single rerun of every single parade on TV. 

“What about you?” Harvey asks as the three of you approach the house.

“She eats corn,” Sabrina says quickly. You and Harvey give her a confused look.

“I eat corn?” You repeat slowly. You roll your eyes at your sister. “Aunt Zelda and I play chess after football is over.” You lie to Harvey. Aunt Zelda started a tradition where the two of you have a magic only fight. No physical contact, no curses or hexes, only spells. The first witch to fall wins. You always win because Aunt Zelda always lets you win, but each year she makes it harder for you to win. But after your discovery, you wonder if she’ll want to fight you.

“Then, it's the movies and Chinese food,” Sabrina says. “How about you guys?”

“My grandpa's coming, which means lots of beer-drinking and deer-hunting.”

“Since when do you-”

“I don't. But since I'm working at the mines now, honoring the ‘Kinkle legacy,’ they said I could join 'em.”

“Just promise me you'll be careful.”

“I will.” He pauses. “I'm kind of excited about it.” He smiles as the three of you reach the house.

“Do you wanna come in? To say hi?” Sabrina asks him. You limp up to the porch as you roll your eyes. You don’t really want to listen to them, you just want to take a bath and crawl into bed. You pause when you see entrails nailed to the door.

“Sure.” Harvey smiles. 

“There’s entrails nailed to our front door.” You think to Sabrina.

“Actually, Harvey, I forgot, my aunts are having some people over. Can we take a rain check?” Sabrina asks quickly before Harvey can see the door.

“Uh, yeah, sure, but-”

“Thanks so much for understanding.” She gives him a quick kiss. “I'll see you at school tomorrow. Bye.” She says quickly.

“Bye,” Harvey replies as Sabrina pushes you inside the house. You cringe at the pain her touch causes you. “Aunties? Ambrose?” Sabrina yells. “Can anyone explain why it looks like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has been nailed to our door?” Sabrina asks as she closes the door behind her.

“Oh, dear. I'll get some soap and sponges.” Aunt Hilda sighs with a chuckle.

“And I'll get a plastic bag to collect the lamb entrails,” Ambrose says. You watch Aunt Zelda walk down the stairs.

“It's a message from the Council, Sabrina.” Aunt Zelda answers Sabrina’s question. “It means our family's been selected to participate in this year's Feast of Feasts.” She says proudly. “Where’s your sister’s coat?” Sabrina gives Aunt Zelda a confused look as she walks away. The two of you follow her into the kitchen.

“So, what’s the Feast of Feasts?” Sabrina asks her as she grabs a bottle of alcohol and a cup and sits at the table. Sabrina sits at your place at the table and you sit at hers. You don’t think Aunt Zelda would want to sit near you anyway.

“Feast of Feasts, Sabrina, is one of our coven's holiest holidays. It's similar to mortal Thanksgiving, but-”

“The menu is slightly different,” Ambrose adds as he touches Sabrina’s shoulders and then head. He does the same to you. You force yourself not to react to pain his touch causes.

“It's meant to honor the single greatest sacrifice a witch ever made to save her coven.” Aunt Zelda finishes.

“Praise Sister Freya. May we meet again.” Aunt Hilda says softly as she places a lit candle on the table.

“Who's Freya?” Sabrina asks.

“A queen amongst witches. Do you not know any history?” You ask Sabrina.

“Who was the eighth president?” She asks you flatly.

“Mortals have eight presidents?” You ask.

“Centuries ago,” Aunt Zelda interrupts, “the fourteen women belonging to the earliest incarnation of the Church of Night were chased out of the township of Greendale into the hills, the forest.” She pauses. “Hilda.”

“The men of Greendale had hunted all the animals. So, you know, really, there was nothing to eat.” Aunt Hilda says, continuing the story.

“The witches would've starved and died that winter, had it not been for the sacrifices of Freya, the youngest, strongest witch,” Ambrose says slowly. “She, um,” he makes a killing motion with his hand over his throat. Sabrina has a confused look on her face. You roll your eyes.

“Freya slit her own throat and offered up her body so that the coven would have sustenance through the cold months, into the spring.” Aunt Zelda finishes. 

“Praise Freya!” The three of them say.

“Wait, are we seriously talking about cannibalism?” Sabrina asks.

“It's not unlike the Donner Party.” Ambrose defends.

“The Feast of Feasts is an annual demonstration of our devotion to the Dark Lord.”

“Now Sabrina won’t take part in it.” You smirk, trying to act normal even though you know today isn’t normal and Aunt Zelda isn’t normal. She still hasn’t looked at you.

“Fourteen families from the coven are selected to participate in a, uh a lottery. The families then choose someone to represent them. A tribute, as it were.”

“Only ladies are eligible because-” Ambrose says.

“It is the Dark Lord's will.” Aunt Zelda replies with a smile. “In any case, the fourteen tributes draw lots to see who will win the honor of being queen.”

“What do you get as queen?” Sabrina asks cautiously.

“You get to be the main course,” Ambrose says.

“The queen is eaten? And witches participate in this willingly?”

“It is a sacred tradition. Our obligation is not to question, it is to obey and participate.” Aunt Zelda replies.

“But no one's starving anymore. And we're talking about murder here!” Sabrina argues.

“Ritual sacrifice. It's slightly different.” Ambrose says.

“Since Hilda's been excommunicated, only Sabrina, Y/N, and I are eligible for the lottery, which means that I will represent the family at tomorrow night's drawing.” Aunt Zelda says proudly as she begins to stand up.

“No, no, no. No. Aunt Zelda, you can't.” Sabrina says in a panic as she grabs Aunt Zelda’s arm.

“Yeah, what if you get picked?” You say, feeling Sabrina’s panic and your own panic causing you to panic more.

“Aunt Hilda? Ambrose? Back us up here! We Spellmans are an endangered species. We lost our mom and our dad. We don't want to lose you, too.”

“We can’t lose you.” You say. “The whole house would fall apart without you!” You want Aunt Zelda to look at you when you speak to her, but she doesn’t. She looks in your direction to keep up appearances, but you both know she’s not looking at you. “You’re all we have left.” You say quietly. You glance at Aunt Hilda, who has a look of shock and sadness on her face at your words. You look back to Aunt Zelda, she has a similar look, and you can almost see some kind of realization behind it.

“That's sweet, girls,” Aunt Zelda says softly as she rubs Sabrina’s shoulder, “but your Aunt Hilda and I have participated in many lotteries over the years, and the Dark Lord has never seen fit to reward us with being queen. I have no reason to believe this year will be any different. So please, the Feast of Feasts is happening, and like it or not, we are participating.” She says as she stands up and finishes her drink. 

“Then let me participate.” You say.

“No, you’re my sister!” Sabrina says.

“I’m the youngest. I’m not the firstborn like you.” You say to Sabrina. “And I’m a twin, so it’s not like there isn’t another me if I were chosen.”

“I can’t let my little sister be eaten by witches!”

“We can’t let our aunt be eaten either!”

“Freya was the youngest witch. I’m the youngest Spellman.”

“Or you’re going to die from your injuries.” Sabrina thinks to you. You glare at her.

“That’s enough girls.” Aunt Zelda booms over the two of you as she slams her glass on the table. “I will participate in the lottery. End of story.

“Yes, Auntie.” You both say. 

“Aunt Zelda, can we talk?” You ask her quietly as you and Sabrina stand up. You hope to maybe discuss your discovery. Your muscles ache as you force them to move.

“Not right now. I have some business to take care of.” She replies before leaving the kitchen. You purse your lips together, unsure of what to do. Sabrina goes to your room for the night.

“Is everything alright love?” Aunt Hilda asks as she stands up and places a hand on your back. You flinch from the pain.

“It was just a bad day at school.” You reply softly. 

“What happened?”

“It’s nothing. I can handle it on my own.” You reply.

“Apparently not because you’re limping.” You stare at her in shock. “Oh, don’t give me that look. I could see that from a mile away. Come on, let me see what happened.” She gently grabs your arm.

“I said I’m fine.” You reply curtly as you jerk your arm away from her.

“Will you at least tell me what happened?” She asks, unsure of how to take your reply.

“It’s nothing. It happened, it’s over, that’s all.” You reply. “I’m going to get some homework done.” You quickly walk away from Aunt Hilda and go into the study. You look on the shelves for a book on healing or something to at least numb the pain you’re feeling. As you search, you can’t help but think about what you could have done differently to prevent yourself from getting beaten up.

“I brought you a little snack, love.” Aunt Hilda says a few hours later as she walks into the study with a tray of cookies and tea. “Everyone’s already eaten supper, but I didn’t think you were in the mood to eat with everyone.

“Thank you, but I’m not hungry.” You reply.

“Did you have a bad day, love?” She asks as she sets the tray on the desk.

“It started out so well. We laughed and joked and playfully argued.” You say quietly as you sit behind the desk and Aunt Hilda sits in front of it. You place your head in your hands and let your fingers run through your hair.

“You father used to do the same thing when he was stressed out and having a bad day.” She chuckles softly.

“How did he handle it? When things didn’t go well?” You ask as you look at her. You take a cookie from the tray and begin to eat it.

“Well, he’d usually lock himself in the study and sit behind that desk and think and think and think. He wasn’t really one to let us in on his problems. But sometimes, I’d bring him a tray of his favorite cookies and some tea and after a few minutes, a cup of tea, and a cookie, he’d open up a little.”

“Father was a simple man.” You say as you set the cookie back on the tray.

“Oh no, he was very complex. But he understood that he couldn’t keep his thoughts and feelings to himself forever. Some burdens need to be shared.” You nod, thinking about her words.

“Did Father ever get beat up?” You ask.

“He was attacked several times,” she looks at the portrait of your father, “especially after he married your mother because the coven didn’t approve of it. But it was extremely rare because he was respected and feared in the church.” She returns her attention to you. “Did you get beat up at school today?” Her face becomes concerned and her eyes are full of worry. You don’t look at her. “Y/N, what happened?” She reaches across the desk and places a hand on your shoulder. You feel tears form in your eyes again. 

“Everything happened.” You say, your voice cracking. “Aunt Zelda hates me and then at school today four mortal boys grabbed me and made me break my necklace and then they took it and then they taped my eyes and mouth and put a bag over my head and beat me up.” You say quickly. 

“Oh, Y/N!” Aunt Hilda gasps as she stands up, walks over to you, and wraps you in a hug. You start to cry as she holds you. “Why would your Aunt Zelda hate you?” She asks, tackling one issue at a time.

“Because I found out.” You sob.

“Found out what?”

“I found out about the potion that made me sick when I was a baby.” Aunt Hilda is quiet for a moment. She allows you to cry as you bury your face in her neck. She holds you tightly and runs her fingers through her hair. Once you calm down a little, she speaks again. “How about we take a look at what those bullies did to you and talk about it?” She asks. You nod your head and she leads you out of the study and into the kitchen. You sit on the kitchen table and rub your eyes. You take off your jacket and pull off your shirt. You see nothing but shock on Aunt Hilda’s face. “How many times did they hit you?” She asks, gently touching your ribs. 

“Ten times each.” You mumble. “Some hit, some kicked.” Aunt Hilda examines your back. 

“Do you feel alright?”

“It hurts to breathe but I’m learning to ignore it.” You reply. You kick off your shoes and pull off your jeans.

“Oh, love.” She mumbles as she looks at the bruises on your legs. There’s a moment of silence as she examines the bruises on your body. “She never wanted you to find out.” She whispers after a moment. “Zelda beat herself up for so long because of that. It was a simple mistake; one anyone could have made. But Zelda always strives for perfection and when she can’t achieve that, she can’t handle it.”

“And she hates me for finding out.”

“No, no, no, no. She doesn’t hate you at all. She adores you. She loves you. But you know Zelda, she’s not one to admit her mistakes or have them unearthed. She was so scared when it happened. She thought you were going to die, we both did. Once you were better, it was weeks before Zelda would go near you again because she was so afraid of hurting you.” Aunt Hilda walks over to a shelf and begins looking at the different bottles of potions.

“What made her change her mind?” You ask.

“Well, because she was staying away from you, that meant I had to take care of you and Sabrina. Zelda and I had it split where she mostly took care of you and I mostly took care of your sister. But without her taking care of you, I had to take care of two babies. That only lasted a few weeks. You were adorable babies, but you cried incessantly if Zelda wasn’t near you. You were alright with me holding you for a little bit, but you eventually grew tired of it and just wanted Zelda. After about two or three weeks, I couldn’t stand the crying anymore and made Zelda hold you. You stopped crying and Zelda took back her role as your caregiver, although she did become a lot more protective of you after that.” She says as she grabs a bottle from the shelf. She walks back over to you and pours some of the potion into a glass. “This should help with any internal injuries. It won’t help with the bruises though; those will have to heal on their own.” She adds as she hands you the glass. “It’ll also put you to sleep. That’s how you know it’s working.”

“I thought you didn’t want us to use potions to heal our wounds.” You say with a confused look as you take the glass.

“No,” she says as you drink the liquid, trying not to taste it, “that’s Zelda and Ambrose and I was referring to mental wounds; feelings and such. But I don’t want you using potions for little things like papercuts, potions are expensive to make, you know.” She smiles softly as she touches your cheek. You place the glass on the table and get down. “Get some rest love.” She says.

“Yes, Aunt Hilda.” You say softly as you put your clothes back on. You walk up to your room and spin into your pajamas. Sabrina is reading a book on her bed.

“Did you cave?” Sabrina asks as you lie on your bed.

“Cave?” You ask.

“Did you tell Aunt Zelda what happened to you?”

“No.” You reply. There is silence between the two of you for a moment. “Sabrina, I think I should be the one to be in the lottery.” You say.

“No! You can’t be in the lottery!” She says in a harsh whisper.

“What if I’m not supposed to be alive?”

“What are you talking about?” She furrows her brow as she throws herself onto your bed, laying beside you.

“I was just thinking, what if I was supposed to die? What if I wasn’t supposed to live this long?”

“You’re not supposed to die! You’re my little sister. My twin sister. My identical twin sister!”

“But think about it. I almost died when I was born. If Aunt Zelda hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be here. I almost died a few times when we were younger and we both almost died when we went to visit that demon at Susie’s house.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re supposed to die!” Sabrina argues with you as she holds onto your hand. “Besides, you can’t die. It’s against the rules.” She says softly and with a slight smile.

“What rules?”

“We’re twins. We’re supposed to die at the same time. If we don’t die at the same time, I at least have to die first.”

“That’s a very morbid rule.” You smile.

“You just sat here and told me how you were supposed to die!” Sabrina says, a smile forming at the corners of her lips.

“Maybe I was supposed to die, maybe one of your hairbrained schemes is supposed to kill me.” You smile back.

“My schemes are not hairbrained!” 

“Oh, they totally are!” You laugh. You feel the potion begin to take effect as you let out a yawn. “What kind of well thought out scheme would involve jumping into a room with a demon?”

“What kind of person roams the woods as a white wolf?”

“A person who doesn’t go waltzing into dangerous situations willingly!”

“Oh, whatever!” She smirks. “You love the danger.”

“Only when I’m in control of the danger.” You yawn again.

“But you can’t be in the raffle.” She says seriously.

“Why not?”

“Because you’re my little sister, my twin sister. You may not understand the things I’m going through, but you sometimes try to.” You laugh at her words. “I need you here and I need you to be alive.”

“We also need Aunt Zelda and we need her to be alive too.” You reply sleepily.

“I know. But we’ll figure something out. Maybe Ms. Wardwell will know.” You nod your head at Sabrina’s words.

“Maybe.” You mumble as you drift off to sleep. You wake up hours later. You let your eyes adjust to the darkness. Sabrina is still next to you, her hand tightly gripping yours even in sleep. You turn your head to see the doorway. You can make out the figure of an animal at your doorway. He stares at you, unmoving and unblinking. “Vinegar Tom?” You hiss to the animal. He continues to stare at you. You roll your eyes at the familiar. He has a tendency to randomly appear somewhere in the house to stare at you. There are several pictures of you as a toddler having staring contests with Vinegar Tom. “Why?” You ask him in irritation as though he would answer to you. You sigh and close your eyes, trying to fall back asleep. After an hour of trying, you finally fall back asleep. You stay asleep until Sabrina wakes you up the next morning for school. The first thing you look at is to see if Vinegar Tom is still sitting at the door. He’s not. You aren’t exactly surprised that he isn’t, but you’re confused as to why he was outside your door. It isn’t often that he’s not in his basket. You decide to ask Aunt Zelda about it at breakfast. You and Sabrina quickly get dressed and get your bags for school before heading downstairs. 

“Morning, darlings!” Aunt Hilda says cheerfully as the two of you walk into the kitchen. She’s cutting up vegetables at the counter.

“Morning, Auntie!” Sabrina smiles.

“How do you feel, Y/N?” Aunt Hilda asks you.

“I’m fine.” You reply as you look at the kitchen table. Aunt Zelda isn’t there again. “Where is Aunt Zelda?”

“She’s off running some errands.” She replies. “I’ve washed your coat for you, it’s on the coatrack with Sabrina’s.” She tries to change the subject.

“Something isn’t right.” You say to her. She stops cutting and looks at you.

“Why do you think that, love?”

“This is the second time Aunt Zelda hasn’t been at the table for breakfast and last night Vinegar Tom was in the doorway of our room.”

“Did you have another staring contest with him?” Aunt Hilda smiles playfully.

“I’m serious, Aunt Hilda!” You say. “Something isn’t right!” 

“Nonsense, Zelda is just busier than usual and you probably just dreamed that you saw Vinegar Tom.” She says. But you know she can also tell that something isn’t right. You and Sabrina eat breakfast, grab your coats, and rush off to school. You are too concerned about Aunt Zelda and about Aunt Hilda’s behavior this morning to focus. You play with the buttons on your coat throughout Ms. Wardwell’s class. You feel safe and comforted by having your coat back. You want your necklace back, but you’re happy just having your coat with you.

“Don't forget it's Thanksgiving week, class,” Ms. Wardwell says towards the end of her class as you snap out of your thoughts for a moment, “and I want to talk about you and this town. Your family trees tell the tale of Greendale. So, how well do you know your roots? For instance, you, Mr. Kinkle. When did your family come to Greendale?”

“I'm not exactly sure,” Harvey says nervously.

“How did they come to own the mines? And why?” Ms. Wardwell presses.

“I don't, I don't know.” He stammers.

“Well, you've got some digging to do.” She replies. “All of you do. The assignment this week is to research your own family history. It's time we got to know ourselves, and each other better.” The bell rings before she can say anything else. “Class is dismissed.”

“Hey, did you hear about the football guys that the weird little chick harassed? They got in a really bad accident late last night.” Someone whispers. 

“Yeah, I heard they’re all in comas.” Another student replies. Sabrina looks at you.

“You did tell Aunt Zelda!” She thinks to you.

“No, I didn’t!” You think back, unsure of what happened.

“Did you put them in comas?”

“No, I don’t do comas. I do pain and suffering.” Sabrina rolls her eyes. “Maybe it was just a fluke thing.”

“I doubt that.” She thinks as she walks up to Ms. Wardwell’s desk. You follow behind her. “Ms. Wardwell, have you ever heard of witches celebrating something called Feast of Feasts?” She asks the teacher.

“Hmm. My former coven, the Church of Shadows, had a comparable ritual.”

“Do you know if there's any way to opt out of it?” Sabrina asks.

“Or stop it?” You ask.

“Not off the top of my head, but I could do some research if you like.”

“That would be great, Ms. Wardwell.”

“And I'll do the same.” You say.

“Why do you have an interest in stopping such a thing?” Ms. Wardwell asks you. 

“Our family has been called to participate in the drawing and Aunt Zelda is dangerously determined to be the one to draw for the family.” You reply. “Sabrina and I can’t lose each other but we also can’t lose either of our aunts. All we have is each other and our aunts.”

“You can’t hold onto them all forever. You know that, right?”

“There will come a day when our aunts pass away and Sabrina and I are left with only each other. I know that yes. And I also know that there will come a day when I will leave Sabrina or she will leave me. But that time hasn’t come yet and I’ll do everything in my power to prevent it from coming prematurely.” Ms. Wardwell nods in reply. 

“I’ll see what I can do to help the two of you.”

“Thank you.” You both say. 

“We have to go to the academy today,” Sabrina says to you as the two of you leave the classroom. “We need a place to plan out how we’re going to stop Aunt Zelda from being in the raffle.”

“We can plan at home in the comfort of our rooms without a bunch of full blood bitches watching us.” You mumble as the two of you walk into the next class of the day. You don’t pay any attention to the teacher; your mind instead goes to Vinegar Tom. Why was he standing at your door last night? Did he go of his own accord or did Aunt Zelda send him there? Why would Aunt Zelda send him there? He is her familiar, after all. Then again, maybe he acted of his own accord, Edward does whatever the heaven he wants to do. Now that you think of it, you also can’t remember the last time you’ve seen your owl. But you haven’t seen Salem in a while either. Before you know it, the bell rings again and everyone is rushing off to lunch. You go into the library while Sabrina hangs out with her friends. You roam around the room of books for a few minutes, trying to figure out where you familiar is. Are you supposed to feed familiars? Did Salem eat Edward? You shake your head, there’s no way something as sassy and grumpy and proud as Edward would allow himself to be eaten by a feral familiar. You run your hand over a shelf of books as you walk past them. There’s a feeling of comfort in them. You stumble on something on the floor and fall, suppressing a surprised yelp as you make contact with the ground. You sit up and turn around to see what you tripped over. Vinegar Tom is staring at you.

“Vinegar Tom?” You say to the familiar. What are you doing out here?” He, of course, doesn’t answer. He just stares at you pathetically, unblinking and unmoving. “You have to get out of here! What if a mortal sees you?” You whisper to the animal. You wave your hand at him to leave, but he just stares at you. “Go, go find Aunt Zelda!” You hiss nervously, hoping no one comes down the isle of books or hears you. You notice something attached to the familiar’s neck. It’s a gold chain with a piece of paper attached to it. You carefully remove the chain and see a star attached to it. Your necklace. You remove the piece of paper to reveal a note. ‘Don’t lose it again.’ Is scrawled on the note in handwriting you don’t recognize. It’s definitely not Aunt Zelda’s or Aunt Hilda’s or even Ambrose’s. But Vinegar Tom only takes commands from Aunt Zelda. You stare at the note for a moment, the bell rings and interrupts your thoughts. When you look at Vinegar Tom again, he’s gone. You examine the necklace, it’s definitely yours, but the chain has been fixed. You quickly slip it on your neck and go to your next class. You daydream through it and your last class. Once mortal school is over, you and Sabrina quickly teleport to the academy and head to your dorm room. Of course, the first people you encounter before reaching the dorm room are Prudence and her sisters.

“I can't believe you're one of the fourteen tributes, Prudence.” You overhear one of the Weird Sisters say.

“Why not? All night long, I prayed and prayed to the Dark Lord, didn't I?” Prudence answers.

“Yes, but so did I.”

“So did I.”

“Don't be jealous, girls. Maybe it'll be your turn next year.” Prudence smiles.

“Wait, Prudence, you're a part of this lottery?” Sabrina asks.

“Just stay out of it.” You whisper to your twin.

“There were entrails on her bed, but she's always been lucky that way.” The other two sisters say in eerie unison.

“Lucky? Hang on. You actually want this? You want to be sacrificed?” Sabrina says in surprise.

“More than I've ever wanted anything in my life,” Prudence says proudly.

“But that's insane. Why?”

“You wouldn't understand, half-breed, you're not a real witch. But there is no greater honor.”

“We’re more witch than you’ll ever be.” You mumble.

“I see the guard dog is on her leash again.” Prudence smiles as though she just noticed your presence.

“Imagine, an orphan being queen.”

“It would be the first time in the history of the Church of Night.”

“I honestly hope you will be chosen, Prudence. You truly deserve to be queen.” You say with a smile. Sabrina elbows you. The two of you notice Nick walking through the hall and Sabrina calls out to him.

“Nicholas, wait. Wait up.” She follows after him and you follow after her, not wanting to deal with the creepiness of Prudence and her sisters. “Where do you stand on the Feast of Feasts?” Sabrina asks Nick when she stops him.

“I'm a conscientious objector.” He replies. “I think it's bonkers.” He adds.

“Of course he does.” You say flatly.

“Thank you.” Sabrina sighs, ignoring you.

“Your father actually banned Feast of Feasts when he was High Priest. He said it was barbaric.”

“So, why is it happening again?”

“Well, Blackwood reinstated it the year he became High Priest. He received a ‘revelation’ from the Dark Lord to return to our old rituals.”

“Wait, you're not a tribute, are you?”

“No. Our Aunt Zelda is putting herself forth but I wonder if she'd feel differently about the feast if we were on the chopping block.” Sabrina looks at you. 

“Hmm.” Nicholas hums.

“We’d die.” You reply. Nick laughs.

“There’s a change we wouldn’t get picked,” Sabrina replies. 

“But there isn’t a chance that Aunt Zelda wouldn’t kill us if we did something so stupid and reckless again.”

“We can’t just not do something. We have to try to show Aunt Zelda that this isn’t as normal as she thinks it is.”

“And you think the two least normal people in the whole coven will accomplish that? You know how she gets when we’re in danger, she’ll risk life and limb for us. There’s no way she’d react well to us doing this!”

“And that’s why we should do it. She’ll do anything to protect us, but if we put her on the spot in front of everyone, what choice will she have but to let us go up there?”

“She puts our lives above her own. If we were on the chopping block, she’d view the situation differently than if it were here about to risk her life.” You say more to yourself than Sabrina.

“Exactly!” She smiles. “Come on, Y/N, we have to try. We have to do something to save Aunt Zelda.” You sigh, knowing you won’t talk Sabrina out of her latest plan.

“Fine. We’ll once again go along with another one of your hairbrained schemes.”. You feel nervous the rest of the afternoon and into the evening when it is time for everyone to gather at the church.

You and Sabrina wait outside of the church. Sabrina wants to make a dramatic entrance. Once everyone is inside and Father Blackwood finishes speaking, the two of you will barge in like a couple of hooligans and pray that Aunt Zelda won’t personally toss you into the pits of Hell.

“This is a bad idea.” You whisper to Sabrina as the two of you listen with your hears pressed against the church doors.

“Shh,” Sabrina hushes you. You roll your eyes.

“Tonight we celebrate a time-honored tradition.” You hear Father Blackwood say. “The Feast of Feasts is a reminder that even the humblest amongst us can be lifted up to sit with the Dark Lord. And that the survival of the coven is greater than the life of any individual witch. Sisters, let the Dark Lord's will be revealed.”

“Now!” Sabrina says to you. The two of you throw open the doors and walk into the church.

“Stop!” You and Sabrina say at the same time, hands joined. Everyone stares at the two of you and murmurs erupt through the crowd. You can only imagine how odd it looks for the identical Spellman twins in their matching red coats to be standing in the church, holding hands, once again causing trouble. You look at the row of women in front of you. You see Aunt Zelda. She still doesn’t look you in the eyes. You see fear in her eyes. She knows what the two of you are doing.

“We will draw,” Sabrina says.

“We will draw for the Spellman family.” You say.

“Girls, what in Satan's name are you doing?” Aunt Zelda whispers.

“We’re upholding a beloved tradition, Aunt Zelda, unless, of course, you want to admit that this whole thing is barbaric, as our father believed!” You nudge Sabrina in defiance, trying to get her to shut up. Father Blackwood steps in front of you, blocking you from Aunt Zelda’s view. You stare daggers at him.

“Sister Zelda, is there a problem?” He asks menacingly. Aunt Zelda looks around the room and then looks at Sabrina.

“No, Your Excellency.” She says strongly. “My brave nieces, my only nieces, would like to represent the family this year. So, Sabrina, Y/N, by all means, go ahead.” She steps away from the other women and goes to take a seat. “Select your paper.” Aunt Zelda says as she passes the two of you, trying to hide her anxiety. She sits in the second row, watching. She doesn’t take her eyes off Sabrina as she selects the paper. You don’t take your eyes off Aunt Zelda, begging her to just glance at you. You look into the audience and feel the fear and anxiety that you felt the night you stood before the coven as they searched you for a witch’s mark. You feel like your stomach is full of metal and your heart is going to explode from how hard it’s beating. Once Prudence is handed the final paper, Father Blackwood stomps on the floor.

“Burn them.” He demands. You and Sabrina hold onto the paper together as you hold it to the candle in front of you. You hold your breath as the paper touches the flame. The smoke is blood red. You realize you had been holding your breath and let it out. Red means you and Sabrina are safe and Aunt Zelda is safe too. 

“We’re safe.” You think to Sabrina.

“Look next to you.” She thinks back. You look at Prudence. Her paper is burning yellow that fades into a cloud of white smoke.

“Prudence is queen.” Father Blackwood announces.

“When will it be my turn?” Sister Mildred whispers to herself. Lady Blackwood motions for everyone to stand and the audience does so.

“All hail, Queen of the Feast!” Lady Blackwood says, standing beside Prudence. 

“All hail, Queen of the Feast!” The audience chants.

“Kneel before your queen!” Father Blackwood yells, holding Prudence’s hand above her head like in the wrestling matches Aunt Zelda sometimes watches. Everyone but you and Sabrina kneel. You look at Aunt Zelda and see the rage in her face. Your breath catches in your throat.

“Yeah, we’re totally going to die when we get home.” You think to Sabrina.

“Why do you say that?” She thinks back.

“When was the last time you saw that much rage in her face?” Everyone is quickly dismissed. “Do you think we can sneak out before she finds us? We can stay at the academy for a few nights, go to mortal school, and then try to go home. Maybe she won’t be as mad then.” Before Sabrina can reply, Aunt Zelda charges up to the two of you.

“Home. Now.” She hisses through her teeth. She takes your wrist in one hand and Sabrina’s in the other and leads the two of you out of the church. There is a tense silence as she drags the two of you home like children.

“We’re going to die!” You think to Sabrina.

“Stop saying that! She won’t hurt us!”

“Aunt Zelda hasn’t dragged us by the wrist since we were three years old and put that snake in her hair at the mall.”

“Silence.” Aunt Zelda says. You both know she can’t hear your conversation, but you have no doubt that she can tell when the two of you are communicating. Aunt Zelda drags the two of you home.

“How did it go?” Aunt Hilda asks cheerily. She looks at Aunt Zelda and then notices that she’s holding onto the two of you. “Right, I’ll just get the tea.” She sighs quietly, knowing this won’t end well. Aunt Zelda drags the two of you into the parlor before she starts yelling.

“Do you realize how close you two came to being sacrificed?” Aunt Zelda yells. You keep your hands at your sides, trying to hide them so no one notices how badly your shaking. Ambrose pretends to be reading a book, but you know he’s listening and silently laughing to himself at the trouble the two of you have gotten yourselves into.

“I didn't think you would let us go through with the drawing!” Sabrina retaliates as Aunt Hilda enters the room with a tray of tea.

“Oh, so it's my fault that you decided to play a game of chicken with me in front of the entire coven? That's rich. And to get your younger sister in on it too! You’re twins, she also has to pay the price for your actions!” 

“I chose to do it!” You yell, matching Aunt Zelda’s tone. She falls silent. “Sabrina doesn’t make all the decision for both of us. I chose to go up there myself. And why does it matter? We weren’t chosen so everything is fine. It can go back to the way it was where we’re all pretending that everything is fine and everyone is happy and not miserable and crumbling inside!” You say.

“Right, well, what's done is done. Let's just praise Satan. He decided to spare you all.” Aunt Hilda says, placing her hands on your shoulders and trying to stop the argument before it really begins.

“Not entirely. The twins drew the lot of handmaiden.” Aunt Zelda spits. Aunt Hilda has a look of surprise.

“Better to be the shepherd than the lamb,” Ambrose says quickly.

“Which means what, exactly? Aunt Zelda still hasn't told me.” Sabrina says.

“The lamb is the queen and the shepherd is the handmaiden,” Ambrose says joyfully.

“The queen's exaltation is the highest honor, so for the next three days, while the coven fasts and prepares for the feast, the handmaiden must indulge the queen's every whim.” Aunt Zelda says, pretending to have composed herself as she sits down and Aunt Hilda pours her some tea.

“Basically, we’re Prudence’s slaves.” You say flatly.

“Great! So, I'm supposed to spoil the girl who harrowed me.” Sabrina sighs.

“Preferably with figs and wild berries to sweeten her meat before the feast.” Ambrose requests.

“That's not even funny, Ambrose.”

“Oh, come on, cous, it is a little funny. Prudence getting her just desserts by literally becoming the dessert.” Suddenly, the doorbell begins to ring repeatedly.

“That’s not annoying at all.” You complain as you go to answer the door, glad for the excuse to escape the room Aunt Zelda is in. Ambrose quickly jumps up and beats you to the door.

“Why, hello there.” Prudence smiles.

“Who might you be?” He asks her.

“I'm Queen of the Feast,” Prudence says as she lets herself in.

“In that case, do come on in.”

“Prudence,” Sabrina says as she joins the three of you.

“Handmaidens.” She says as she drops her bag at Sabrina’s feet and takes the apple from her hand. “I assume my room's upstairs?” She takes a bite of the apple. “I'm dying for a warm buttermilk bath. And a plate of macaroons.” She begins to ascend the stairs. You roll your eyes.

“You put her stuff away, I’ll draw the bath.” You sigh. You walk into the bathroom and turn on the water. You close your eyes and place your hands on the faucet. When you open them, the faucet now produces buttermilk. “What a waste of magic.” You think to yourself as you let the tub fill itself. By the time the tub has filled up, Prudence and Sabrina enter the room. Much to your discomfort, Prudence undresses in front of the two of you and climbs into the tub. 

“I want roses in the buttermilk.” Prudence requests. You roll your eyes and summon a rose. You pluck off the petals and let them fall into the tub. Aunt Hilda brings in a plate of macaroons and quickly leaves. Sabrina begins to scrub Prudence’s arms as you sit with your back to the door.

“You can do my back now,” Prudence says after a few moments. “Tell me, handmaidens, will this be your first time supping on witch flesh?”

“What? I'm not going to eat you, Prudence.” Sabrina replies.

“Yeah, if I want rotten meat, I’ll dig through the garbage.” You retort with disgust.

“You don't have to go through with this madness, you know. I mean, just between us, you don't really want to be queen, do you?”

“Of course I do,” Prudence replies.

“But if you wanted to escape, I would happily look the other way.”

“Why would I want to escape?”

“Yeah, why would she want to escape?” You ask, hinting for Sabrina to shut up.

“I'm about to be transubstantiated.” Prudence finishes.

“Meaning?” Sabrina asks. You roll your eyes. She’s totally getting a dictionary for Solstice.

“After the coven consumes my body, I will be a part of every single witch in the Church of Night, forever. But that's not even the best part. My spirit will reside in the Dark Lord's heart, alongside the other queens, basking in the glow of his glorious fire until the trumpets of the apocalypse are sounded.”

“And you believe that?”

“With absolute certainty.”

“But what if that's not what happens? What if you're sacrificed and it's just over?”

“Is that what you believe?”

“I don't know what happens when we die. It's, it's impossible to know.”

“Wouldn’t Aunt Hilda know?” You ask.

“Yes, but what do you believe?” Prudence asks, ignoring you. Sabrina is silent. “Huh, how sad for you. Not to have faith in anything.”

“Sometimes it’s better to have no faith than to have faith in something that will never happen.” You say. “There’s less to be disappointed in.” Prudence stares at you for a moment.

“I’m done with my bath.” She quickly stands up and grabs a towel. She dries herself off and puts on a robe. You stand up and open the bathroom door as Prudence walks into your room. “Where are you going to sleep?” She asks as she throws herself on your bed.

“Apparently Sabrina and I are going to share a bed.” You roll your eyes. You spin into your pajamas as Sabrina changes into hers and the two of you climb into her bed and turn off the lights. You stare into the darkness and think about just how mad Aunt Zelda was. She still wouldn’t look at you. And on top of it, once Prudence showed up, she quickly disappeared somewhere in the house. You soon drift off to sleep, exhausted from the day’s events. 

“Y/N!” Sabrina shakes you awake hours later.

“What? Is it time to cook Prudence?” You ask.

“No, she’s gone!” She whispers.

“Good, I’m going to go sleep in my bed.”

“I think she’s upstairs with Ambrose.”

“Gross.” You reply.

“We need to go see. I hear a lot of voice and loud music.” You listen for a moment and hear Ambrose’s music. You slowly open your eyes. You’ve had numerous arguments with Ambrose about the volume of his music at night. You slowly climb out of bed and follow Sabrina upstairs.

“Ambrose?” Sabrina calls into the room.

“Turn off the damn music or I’ll turn off your hearing!” You complain. You freeze when you notice several women and men in Ambrose’s room having an orgy.

“Nicholas?” Sabrina asks in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“I invited him, handmaiden. And no plebe can deny a queen on the days leading up to her sacrifice. It also helps that darling Nicky here is hornier than a toad.”

“Join us, Sabrina,” Nick says to her.

“Uh…” Sabrina doesn’t know how to reply. “Nicholas…”

“Or we can go to your room. Just the two of us.” He quickly stands up. “Or three of us, I don’t mind.” He winks.

“Uh, I…” Sabrina says. You quickly put your hand out, a small wall of protection separating you and Sabrina from Nick. You know it’s not strong and he could probably walk through it, but you don’t have a quick enough reaction time to make anything stronger that doesn’t involve fire or electricity.

“You're killing the mood, shepherds. Either get in or get out!” Prudence yells. You and Sabrina quickly leave to your room. You climb into Sabrina’s bed and try to forget the image that has just been burned into your eyes. Sabrina does the same. She tosses and turns, something obviously bugging her.

“Something is on your mind.” You say after about an hour. 

“How can you tell?” Sabrina asks.

“I’m your identical twin, I know these things.” You say sarcastically as you stare at the ceiling. “So, what’s up?”

“I was just thinking about what Prudence said, about what I think about life and death.”

“Don’t listen to Prudence, she just spouts bullshit to screw with your head.” You roll your eyes.

“I know, but what do we believe?”

“We’re witches. We believe in the Dark Lord and how he was cast from Heaven and created us as his children to walk among the False God’s children. You and I are just unfortunate enough to be both the Dark Lord’s children and the False God’s children.” You shrug.

“But what does that mean for us when we die?” She asks you. You let out a laugh.

“I’ve been asking that since our Dark Baptism.” You become more serious. “Unfortunately, no one knows. I’ve done hours upon hours or research, asked several people, and searched through many records. No one knows what happens to a half-witch when they die. It’s not that it’s never happened. There are half-witches all over the world, but the problem is that no one really cares enough to document them or their deaths.” Sabrina is silent. “I suppose the only way we can find out is to die ourselves, but I prefer that both of us wait a very long time before that happens.” Sabrina is still silent. “It’s difficult not knowing,” you sigh, “but our whole lives are based upon not knowing.” You play with your necklace. “I hate not knowing things. But it’s impossible to know everything.” Sabrina still doesn’t reply. “This is a two-way conversation you know.” You complain as you look at her. She’s fallen asleep. “Leave it to you to fall asleep when I’m trying to give you some wise advice.” You mumble as you turn away from her and close your eyes. “Not that you’d listen anyway.” You add before falling asleep.

You wake up to Sabrina’s alarm clock going off. You’ve grown to hate the sound even more since going to mortal school. It serves as a reminder for your punishment, a reminder that you are being forced to leave your home and your family once again to follow behind your sister to ‘keep her out of trouble’. Honestly, you’re pretty sure the two of you have gotten into more trouble than you would have if you were following your separate paths. Sabrina loves the mortals; she belongs with them. You, however, belong with the witches.

“Is Prudence already awake?” Sabrina asks you as she turns off the clock.

“Prudence isn’t my problem.” You mumble as you slowly open your eyes and sit up. You look over to find that your bed is empty.

“Technically-“

“Shut up.” You spit back before Sabrina can finish her sentence. You drag yourself out of bed, rubbing your eyes. You spin into new clothes and follow Sabrina downstairs.

“Have you seen Prudence?” Sabrina asks Aunt Hilda when the two of you reach the kitchen. Today, Aunt Hilda is making tea.

“She’s out on the porch, love.” Aunt Hilda replies simply as she focuses on her task. Sabrina goes to find Prudence, but you stay behind.

“Is Aunt Zelda still upset?” You ask her quietly.

“I think she was more scared than anything.”

“Are you upset?” She looks at you and then sighs.

“No, love, I’m not upset. I’m just worried about the three of you.”

“Sabrina, Prudence, and I?”

“No, you, your sister, and Zelda. It’s one thing to go against your dark baptism-”

“I didn’t have a choice.” You remind her.

“Right, but now you’re playing games of chicken with Zelda. It’s not good for any of you.”

“Is Aunt Zelda okay?” You ask.

“I think it’s something you should talk to Zelda about. You’re better at breaking through her walls than I am.” You nod in reply.

“Where is she?”

“Out running errands again.” She sighs.

“Why is she away so much?”

“She’s avoiding her problems. That’s what Zelda does.”

“She’s avoiding me.” You say. “She hasn’t looked at me since I discovered her secret. I’m her problem.”

“No, not quite like that.” Aunt Hilda sighs with a small smile. “Zelda doesn’t like confrontation unless she’s the one doing it. She prefers things to be done on her own terms and when it involves her past, she will avoid it as much as possible.” 

“How long will she avoid it?”

“Ambrose has been here for over seventy years and she still hasn’t discussed the time she walked in on him with another witch.”

“How long ago was that?”

“About a week after he came to live with us.” You roll your eyes.

“Sounds about right.” You sigh. 

“I see you got your necklace back!” Aunt Hilda changes the subject.

“Yeah, Vinegar Tom brought it to me yesterday at school.” Aunt Hilda has a look of surprise on her face.

“Vinegar Tom came to your school? Vinegar Tom the dead familiar?”

“Aunt Zelda says he’s not dead.” You reply. Aunt Hilda closes her eyes and lets out an exasperated sigh as she shakes her head. You rarely see Aunt Hilda react this way. This is her ‘not the crap again’ reaction. She opens her eyes after a long moment of silence and looks at you. She debates on telling you something but decides against it. “Okay,” she finally speaks, “why don’t you find Sabrina and Prudence. You have school today and I don’t want you to be late. Grab an apple off the table. I have something to discuss with Zelda when she returns.” You do as you’re told and find Sabrina talking to Prudence outside.

“I still don't know what I believe when it comes to death. But I believe that life, all life even the life of someone who tried to kill me-” Sabrina says.

“Several times.” You add as you stand next to Sabrina.

“is precious,” Sabrina says over you. “Witch life, mortal life.”

“Eternal life, which is what awaits me after the feast.” Prudence smiles.

“And there's nothing I can say or do to make you change your mind?”

“No.”

“Good.” You say. Sabrina elbows your side.

“Okay, well if there's no talking you out of this.” Sabrina smiles as she begins to walk away.

“Wait. Where are you going, handmaidens?”

“Baxter High. To live my life. As fully as possible, for as long as possible.” Sabrina says.

“To fulfill my punishment for my sister’s actions.” You grumble. Sabrina elbows your side again.

“The shepherd is meant to take care of the lamb,” Prudence argues.

“Hmm. You can come with us if you want.”

“And why would I do that?”

“Yeah, why would she want to do that?” You ask. “You can’t let a witch loose in Baxter High! You’re taking a wolf to a pasture of sheep!” You think to your sister.

“Said the wolf herself.” She thinks back. You roll your eyes. “Boys. Lots and lots of mortal boys. To torment. And seduce. Or both. Who knows, Prudence, maybe you'll find the meaning of life at Baxter High.” Sabrina says to Prudence.

“I doubt that, not with their underfunded library.” You mumble.

“Oh, you had me at boys to torment.” Prudence smiles. She stands up and spins into a new outfit. The three of you quietly walk to school, Prudence not wanting to talk to you, you not wanting to talk to Prudence, and Sabrina lost in thought about her beliefs.

“Where are we going?” You ask Sabrina as the three of you walk through the doors of the school.

“Your favorite place.”

“Home?” You ask with a smile. Sabrina rolls her eyes.

“The library.” You can see Prudence roll her eyes. 

“Guys, this is Prudence. She's our cousin who's visiting for Thanksgiving.” Sabrina says as the three of you find Harvey, Roz, and Susie. “Prudence, this is my boyfriend, Harvey. And my two best friends, Rosalind and Susie.”

“Very nice to meet you,” Prudence says to the mortals. “You promised me boys.” She whispers harshly.

“I wanted you to meet my friends first,” Sabrina whispers back. “So, what are we talking about?” She asks the mortals as the three of you take a seat.

“Uh, my ancestor Dorothea,” Susie says. “she was an early settler in Greendale and was also a pirate who helped a group of women fleeing religious persecution from Scotland.”

“Dorothea Putnam?” Prudence asks with interest. “We learned about her at my school. She was a true ally to those women. A hero to the marrow.”

“So I'm discovering.” Susie chuckles.

“Did you turn up anything, Harvey?” Roz asks.

“Yeah, but it's kind of messed up. Basically, the Kinkles got ownership of the mines in a-a land grab. Kicked some people out who lived in the hills and took them over.”

“What does that mean?” Sabrina asks innocently.

“By ‘kicked out,’ he means killed.” Prudence says. “And by ‘took over,’ he means stole. What did you say your family name is?”

“Harvey?” Sabrina asks slowly.

“Kinkle.” Harvey answers.

“So, you're a descendant of the Von Kunkles, then.” Prudence’s tone becomes dangerous. “Those ‘hill people’ your ancestors killed were witches. Which makes your family witch-”

“Come on, everybody knows witches aren't real.” Sabrina interrupts.

“Your family committed atrocities, and blood-atonement is demanded.”

“Kidding! She's kidding.” Sabrina jumps up.

“Wait, hang on,” Harvey says.

“Uh, I am going to show her the rest of school, but we will see you guys later! Bye.” Everyone stares at you as Sabrina and Prudence leave. 

“Our dear cousin is a little on the unstable side. She must not have taken her medication this morning. Luckily, I grabbed some of it before leaving the house.” You say as you stand up and walk out of the library, feeling the eyes of the mortals on your back. You quickly find Sabrina and Prudence.

“Did you honestly think I would find meaning here?” Prudence asks. “Amongst your mortal friends? They don't even know the glorious truth of what you are. And your beau is a witch hunter!” You roll your eyes. Leave it to Sabrina to take Prudence, of all people, into a hallway crowded with mortals to discuss witch affairs.

“No, he's not,” Sabrina argues back.

“My sisters and I have a simple philosophy when it comes to witch hunters: kill them before they have the chance to kill us.”

“Prudence, if you lay a finger on Harvey, I swear to Satan, I'll tear you to pieces,” Sabrina says protectively.

“Save it for Feast Day.” Prudence spits back.

“You're deluded.”

“There won’t be anything left of you for Feast Day if you don’t knock it off.” You growl. “We’re surrounded by mortals. Do you really think it’s a bright idea to have this argument right here, right now?” You whisper harshly.

“Girls, girls.” Ms. Wardwell says suddenly from behind you and Sabrina. “Let's not be catty bitches, hmm? Girls, aren't you gonna introduce me to your new gal pal?”

“She’s not my ‘pal’.” You growl. “I’d love to rip her to pieces and feel her blood soak into my fur.”

“Fur?” Ms. Wardwell asks. “Let’s go to my office, shall we?” She says, walking away. Prudence gives you a look as the three of you follow behind the older witch. She closes the door behind the three of you and locks it.

“This is Prudence, she’s Queen of the Feast,” Sabrina says. You can’t help but smile at the shocked look on Prudence’s face. 

“This is also the bitch that cursed Sabrina and tried to harrow us to death.” You spit. “She isn’t worth saving. Let’s just toss her to the wolves and end our troubles.” Sabrina rolls her eyes.

“I know it's witch tradition, but can you please talk some sense into her, Ms. Wardwell, and tell her that there's absolutely no purpose to the feast? Not when the cost is precious life.”

“To whom? Your sister or Prudence?” She smiles.

"Prudence's life is a lot of things, but precious isn't a word I'd use." You retort, glaring at Prudence as you speak. She rolls her eyes at you.

“But the reward is everlasting glory in the Dark Lord's heart. And who is this woman that we can discuss our ways with her?” Prudence replies.

“We can trust Ms. Wardwell.” Sabrina answers.

“Only with small, basic things. She tells too many lies to truly be trusted.” You say, glancing at Ms. Wardwell as she smiles at you, sending a chill down your spine.

“She's a witch, too, excommunicated from another coven,” Sabrina says, talking over you again.

“You expect me to take advice from an excommunicate?”

“You expect me to not kick your ass if you don’t straighten up?” You ask.

“Don't be a snob, Prudence. Ms. Wardwell is incredibly learned.”

“And, as promised, I have done some digging into the Feast of Feasts and it's a-a complicated matter. Now, you may not want to listen to an excommunicate,” Ms. Wardwell says as she stands up, “but there is someone perhaps you should meet. A witch who was once Queen of the Feast, until she rejected the crown. She lives deep in the Greendale Woods. Moon Valley, if you're brave enough to find her.”

“A witch spurned queenship? I don't believe it.” Prudence scoffs.

“Well, if your faith is as strong as you say it is, Prudence,” Sabrina stands next to Ms. Wardwell and crosses her arms, “what's the harm in hearing her story?”

“If I go,” Prudence matches Sabrina’s stance, “I want my sisters to come with us.”

“The more, the merrier. And Satan knows who we might chance upon in the woods.” You glare at Ms. Wardwell. 

“Why do you say that?” You ask, suspicious of the woman.

“I’m just implying that you never know who you’ll run into in Greendale.” You squint at her, you feel that something isn’t right, but you aren’t sure what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tu es trop jeune pour comprendre. You are too young to understand.  
> Je ne suis pas, tante Zelda. I am not, Aunt Zelda.  
> Obtenez sur notre niveau, Sabrina. Climb to our level, Sabrina.


	14. Chapter 7 Part 2

“Walking deep into the woods with three of your worst enemies, a complete stranger and no one knowing where you are sounds like something all the books and mortal movies tell you not to do.” You complain to Sabrina as the two of you, Prudence, Dorcas, Agatha, and Ms. Wardwell walk through the woods.

“If you don’t want to be here then go home. You don’t even want Prudence to back out of the Feast of Feasts.” Sabrina replies as she continues to follow Ms. Wardwell. “And Ms. Wardwell is our teacher, not a complete stranger.” You roll your eyes.

“Are you afraid of what we might find, mutt?” Prudence asks you with a smirk.

“I saw you in a giant orgy in my elder cousin’s bedroom last night. Seeing you half-naked was the worst possible thing I could imagine, so what do I possibly have to fear?” You retort. Prudence glares at you as you walk in silence. You soon come to a large tree in the woods. As the group comes to a stop, you notice fear and anxiety begin to form within the trio behind you. “Who's afraid now?” You smirk. You knew of Dezmelda already, Aunt Zelda visits her for ingredients or sometimes small favors. She never allowed you to follow her though, so you have never actually seen Dezmelda.

“What if she's not at home?” Dorcas asks.

“She's always at home.” Ms. Wardwell replies flatly. “Isn't that right, Dezmelda?” As soon as she speaks, the cloth hanging on the tree is thrown forward, revealing a hole where an old witch stands. “We're witches, like you and seek counsel.” Ms. Wardwell adds. The witch looks at you and Sabrina for a moment.

“Sit down, children.” She says. “You two,” she points her staff to you and Sabrina, “sit by me.” Everyone takes their seats, you sit on Dezmelda’s right next to Ms. Wardwell and Sabrina sits on her left next to the Weird Sisters. 

“What made you run, Dezmelda, from the Dark Lord?” Sabrina asks her once everyone is settled.

“I didn't run from the Dark Lord.” The elder witch says. “I ran from my High Priest. I was a child. We all were. All fourteen of us who took part in the lottery. Younger than you, little one.” She nods to you. “No one questioned why that was. And I was selected to be queen. And then…” She falls silent. Ms. Wardwell reaches across you and places her hand on Dezmelda’s.

“Her High Priest had a revelation delivered unto him by the Dark Lord, allegedly. The night before the feast, the High Priest was to initiate her.”

“I was a child.”

“Rather than allow herself to be violated, Dezmelda fled into the woods. She's lived here ever since.” You feel tension form in the group and anger begin to build in Prudence. 

“What happened then isn't what Father Blackwood is asking now,” Prudence says.

“Just listen to your words. Father Blackwood is asking you to do this thing, not the Dark Lord.” Sabrina begins to argue.

“Father Blackwood is a righteous messenger.”

“But he isn't divine.”

“Oh, he’s far from it.” You smile wickedly, thinking of the puzzle box that he gave you and Sabrina.

“He's flesh and blood, just like you and me. Which means he has faults and he sins. He can be wrong; he can be corrupted.”

“He is wrong. He is corrupted.” You correct. 

“He is the High Priest.” 

“And he’s been given power over a large group of people. Power corrupts people. Sometimes they are able to control that power, but more often than not that power controls them.” You speak. “You are a lamb being led to slaughter, not an orphan being led to a wonderful eternity.”

“Are you suggesting Father Blackwood is acting on his own, independent of the Dark Lord?”

“I'm saying it's possible,” Sabrina says.

“But why? It's clear Dezmelda's High Priest had an agenda. But how would my death serve Father Blackwood? He's taken care of me, raised me, treated me like a daughter.”

“Which makes what he's doing even more insidious.” Sabrina looks to Ms. Wardwell and Dezmelda for help, Ms. Wardwell seems to be staring off into space, pondering something, and Dezmelda nods her head in agreement.

“He isn't doing anything except carrying out the Dark Lord's will. And, Sabrina, I want to be queen. I've dreamed about it. Why can't you accept that?” A gunshot booms throughout the forest. You instinctively crouch down and transform into a wolf, ready to protect your sister and yourself.

“What have you done? Who else have you brought to this place?” Dezmelda asks in a panic as she stands up.

“No one, I swear.” Ms. Wardwell replies.

“Go, and never come back!” Dezmelda cries.

“Follow me, Ladies.” Ms. Wardwell says. Everyone quickly follows behind her. You stay by Sabrina’s side, unsure if you should stay a wolf or go back to being human. Before you make a decision, Ms. Wardwell stops you all at a fresh corpse of a familiar on the ground. Its deer form has its goblin form halfway out of it. You can’t help but shudder at the sight. 

“Ms. Wardwell, what is it?” Sabrina asks.

“It was a familiar. Many live in Moon Valley.”

“Who would do such a thing?”

“Men.” Ms. Wardwell says flatly.  
“Mortals.” You say, matching her tone.

“Hey Dad, over here!” You hear someone say. Everyone jumps in surprise. Ms. Wardwell reaches into her pocket.

“Quickly, take the wool yarn. Form a pentagram around the creature.” She says as she hands the yarn to the Weird Sisters and Sabrina. 

“Wait, Ms. Wardwell, what are we doing?” Sabrina whispers.

“Pulling the wool over their eyes. Don't speak. Stay very quiet, or the cloaking won't take.” Prudence and Ms. Wardwell join hands and they vanish from your view, but you can still sense them. You run behind a tree and watch the mortals run through the brush and into the clearing, Harvey is with them. 

“Blood stops here.” An old man says. You watch them approach Sabrina. “Where the hell is the damn thing?” You freeze when you see the gun pointed toward where Sabrina is standing. 

“That was a kill-shot. It shouldn't even have gotten this far.”

“What do we do now?” Harvey asks.

“We keep looking. I want that prize.” The old man says as he walks off. Once they leave, Ms. Wardwell breaks the spell. Sabrina looks down the path the mortals took as you walk out of your hiding place as a human.

“Once a hunter, always a hunter,” Prudence says venomously. 

“Harvey's not a hunter.”

“Though you must admit, he certainly looks the part, Sabrina.” Ms. Wardwell chimes in.

“We don’t need your assistance.” You growl.

“More than looks it,” Prudence says. “He is a witch hunter. His family are witch hunters. He told you himself.” Prudence says, her anger boiling.

“Then blood demands blood, that is the law,” Agatha says.

“Blood atonement for the murder of this familiar,” Dorcas says.

“Perhaps instead of letting you drag me to the four corners, my last hours would be better spent flaying your boyfriend alive,” Prudence says, she and her sisters ganging up on Sabrina.

“Rending him limb from limb,” Agatha adds.

“Keep away from him. Harvey's not a killer.” Sabrina says fiercely.

“You believe that, Sabrina? Even with what we just saw?”

“Yes. Yes.”

“How is your faith in the mortal boy any different than my faith in the Dark Lord? Why is your faith more valid than mine?” Prudence starts to walk off. You grab Prudence by the shoulders and spin her around to face you. You slap her. “Did you just hit me?” She asks in venomous surprise.

“Yes, and I’ll do it again.” You say before slapping her again.

“Y/N!” Sabrina gasps.

“Stay out of it!” You growl fiercely.

“You do not raise a hand to your queen, Shepard!” She says loudly.

“I just did. And you aren’t my queen.” You growl. You push her against a tree, your arm pinning her to it by her throat. “I don’t like that mortal any more than you do. But I swear to Satan if anything happens to him or his family, you will be the first witch I go to. If I can’t track you down, then I’ll go after your sisters.” She grabs you by your neck and begins to squeeze.

“Prudence, stop!” Sabrina yells.

“I will not be threatened by a half-breed, nor will I let one threaten my sisters.” She hisses as she pushes herself off the tree. “Remember your place and stay in it, you mutt!” She throws you to the ground. You quickly get up and run at her, turning into a wolf. You pin her down, your jaws inches from her neck. 

“I will not hesitate to kill to protect my family. She loves the mortal and I love her.” You growl softly into her ear. You place your teeth on the scar on her shoulder. “I wouldn’t mind cleaning some blood out of my coat.” You bite down on the scar. You don’t bite down hard enough to break her skin, just enough for her to feel the sharpness of your teeth. You hear her hold her breath, waiting for the pain to come. She closes her eyes. You glance next to you to see Ms. Wardwell watching the two of you. Satan, you hate that woman. You slowly get off Prudence and turn back into a human. 

“Showing mercy, half-breed?” Prudence says, her voice shaking slightly as she props herself up on her elbows.

“No.” You spit. “I’m not showing mercy. I’m sending a warning. I don’t give a damn who you are. You can question our faith all you want but don’t you dare threaten to hurt her mortals again.” Prudence stares at you for a moment.

“Understood.” She finally says. You hold a hand to her and she takes it. You help her to her feet.

“I’m glad we have reached an understanding.” You reply. 

“Well, I think it’s time we all head home for the evening.” Ms. Wardwell says, still watching you. Prudence and her sisters quickly teleport away.

“I’ll see you at home.” You say simply to Sabrina.

“Okay. Hey,” she says quickly.

“Yeah?”

“Don’t kill Prudence when you get home.”

“I don’t feel like cleaning blood out of the house.” You reply with a sick smile. Sabrina gently smiles back. She quickly hugs you and you teleport back to the house. Suddenly, the small door across from the front door opens and Aunt Zelda emerges.

“Y/N!” Aunt Zelda says with relief as you appear in the entryway. “Thank Beelzebub, I need you!”

“F-for what?” You ask, unsure of how to take Aunt Zelda’s sudden interest in you.

“I've got Lady Blackwood downstairs on the verge of hysteria, Hilda is at that ridiculous bookstore, but I've got a pot of her calming tea on the stove. Fetch it and come down.” She says quickly before hurrying back downstairs. You grab the tea and place it on a tray with some cups before heading downstairs. You see Lady Blackwood lying on a table.

“At first, there were cramps, then I saw blood. I was spotting. My babies, are they all right?” Lady Blackwood asks Aunt Zelda, her voice shaking, and her head covered in sweat. She grips Aunt Zelda’s hand tightly. 

“Tranquil thoughts, Lady Blackwood, you're fine.” Aunt Zelda tries to calm the woman.

“I can't lose my babies. Faustus would never forgive me. I don't want to fail him.”

“Nonsense. Y/N, pour the tea.” She says as you pour the tea. You bring a cup to Lady Blackwood.

“It's not poison, is it?” Lady Blackwood asks.

“Of course not. It's chamomile with a calming tincture. Drink up. Finish every drop, that's a good girl.”

“What's happening? What's wrong with me?” She asks as Aunt Zelda hands you the cup. You set it back on the tray and stand next to Aunt Zelda.

“Your blood pressure is abnormally high. You're having a panic attack. Have you done any intense spellcasting lately? Sometimes that can stress a pregnancy.”

“It was dangerous, but I had to do it.” Lady Blackwood turns her attention to you. “You understand, don't you?”

“Of course I understand, Lady Blackwood.” You say even though you have no clue what she’s talking about.

“You know what they're really like. Always whispering and-and plotting and-and I think they're gonna kill my babies.”

“No one is going to hurt your babies. You just have a touch of third-trimester hysteria, nothing more.” Aunt Zelda finial gets Lady Blackwood to lie back down.

“Who's plotting?” You ask although you’re sure you already know the answer.

“Those Weird Sisters. Those sluts. I won't let them conspire against me. My children will come first.”

“Why? Why should the orphans wish you any harm?”

“All three of them, they think they're so clever. Planning to take what belongs to my children. They would've done anything. Hurt them, curse them. So, I had to hurt them first. Kill one, and the others are no threat of consequence.”

“Lady Blackwood, look at me.” You say, holding onto her hand. Aunt Zelda watches you silently from the corner of her eye.

“My Aunt Zelda is one of the best midwives in the world. She has never lost a baby and I assure you that your children will not be the first she loses. She’s delivered twins before. Sabrina and I are living proof of it. I was a difficult baby to deliver, I almost died and needed constant care for a long time and Aunt Zelda was able to give it. Your twins will be just fine. But you need to relax and trust us.” You say as you stare into her eyes.

“How can you protect them?” She asks sleepily.

“I’ve beaten Prudence before, and I’ve only gotten stronger.” You say as Lady Blackwood drifts off.

“You mean bitten. You bit Prudence.” Aunt Zelda corrects flatly once she is sure Lady Blackwood has drifted off.

“Close enough.” You say, not looking at her. You suddenly turn your head and stare into her eyes. She stares back at you and doesn’t look away. “I see I exist again.” You say, changing the subject. 

“Y/N, I-”

“It doesn’t matter.” You stop her. “It just, it just doesn’t matter, Aunt Zelda.” You say slowly. You don’t want to hear an excuse. You know it is a difficult topic for her, but that doesn’t mean you should be ignored for it. “Do you need any more assistance?” You ask. 

“N-no, I don’t.” She says. You see hurt in her eyes, but you’re sure she can see the same in yours. You gather the tray of tea and take it back upstairs. You clean it out and begin to brew a fresh pot when Sabrina walks in the door.

“You’re brewing tea?” Sabrina asks.

“You were right.” You say, ignoring her comment. “The lottery was part of someone’s plan, but it wasn’t Father Blackwood’s.”

“What are you talking about?” She asks as she sits at the kitchen table. You sit across from her.

“Lady Blackwood is downstairs. She said she had to do something about Prudence and her sisters. She was afraid they would hurt her children. She said that her children came first.” 

“What did Lady Blackwood mean by her children come first?” Sabrina asks you. Aunt Zelda walks into the kitchen.

“It is unethical to speak of a patient to someone who isn’t a medical professional. Even if they are your sister.” Aunt Zelda says to you.

“My existence is unethical.” You reply grumpily. Aunt Zelda gives you a flat look. 

“Bring the tea in the parlor, I think we should discuss what Lady Blackwood said.” She says before walking out of the kitchen. You roll your eyes and put two cups and saucers on the tray along with the put of tea and a container of cream and a container of sugar cubes. You set the tray on a table in the parlor. Aunt Zelda sits on one side of the table and you and Sabrina sit on the other.

“What did Lady Blackwood mean by her children come first?” Sabrina asks again.

“I wonder if Constance might think Father Blackwood has other children.” Aunt Zelda says. “He wouldn't be the first High Priest to have dropped the odd bastard child here and there.”

“Did our father?” You ask. Aunt Zelda gives you a look.

“But how would those other children be a threat to Lady Blackwood's twins?” Sabrina asks.

“Children born of a High Priest, whether they're legitimate or not, can lay claim to that title. So, if Father Blackwood had other children out in the world, they could all make a play for the seat.”

“We need to tell Prudence,” Sabrina says as she stands up.

“You can tell Prudence if you want. I’m staying here.” You reply.

“Y/N, Prudence could be killed and eaten!”

“I don’t care. Let her. It’s what she wants. The truth will simply fall upon deaf ears anyway so why waste the energy?” You ask. “Personally, I see it was a win-win situation. Lady Blackwood gets rid of a threat, we get rid of a bully. I see no downside to this.” You shrug.

“Why are you two fighting?” Sabrina sighs.

“No one is fighting.” You reply. 

“You’re always in a mood when you make Aunt Zelda mad and you won’t tell me anything. What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing. If I go with you and once again entertain your stupidity, can we not have this conversation?” You ask, becoming agitated.

“No. I’m going. You’re staying here and talking things out with Aunt Zelda. Prudence listens to me more than she does you.” You roll your eyes a Sabrina walks out the door. 

“How are you feeling?” Aunt Zelda asks after a moment of tense silence.

“I’m fine.” You reply.

“Have your bruises healed?” You stare at her for a moment. 

“How do you know about that?” You ask.

“It’s my house. I know what goes on in it. I saw you limping when you came home from school and I saw Hilda examining you in the kitchen and giving you a potion later that night.”

“Did you hear how it happened?”

“Of course, I did.” She scoffs.

“And you got my necklace back and put the boys in a coma, didn’t you?”

“You aren’t the only one who protects this family.” She says proudly as she stares at her cup. 

“No,” you chuckle, “no, I’m not.” Silence falls between the two of you. You reach into the container of sugar cubes and put three into an empty cup. You place a saucer in your lap and set the cup on the saucer.

“Would you like some tea to go with the sugar?” She asks as she takes a sip of her tea. She hates you eating sugar cubes.

“No, thank you. But I would like some answers.” You reply, putting a sugar cube in your mouth. You watch her become tense.

“Alright,” She replies. 

“Why have you been ignoring me since I found out?” You ask, looking at her.

“I was afraid of what you would say after finding out. Almost killing one of your newborn nieces just days after your elder brother died is not something anyone wants to relive or admit to.”

“Why did you work so hard to hide it from me?” Aunt Zelda closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before she speaks. 

“I know you look up to me a lot. I’ve noticed that you don’t open up to people like you do me and I worried that if you knew, you would no longer see me as you currently do.”

“You were afraid your favorite child wouldn’t like you anymore.” You scoff.

“I was worried about your wellbeing.”

“Aunt Zelda, I thought you hated me.” You say, looking into her eyes. “Sabrina and I were in the lottery; we could have been in Prudence’s place and you wouldn’t even look at me. I was convinced you didn’t care what happened to me.”

“I would never hate you.” She says simply.

“I don’t care to know what happened. I know you and I know you wouldn’t purposely hurt Sabrina or me so I know whatever happened was an accident. I just don’t want you to hate me. That’s all I’ve been concerned about all week.” You say quietly. Aunt Zelda has a look of guilt on her face. You set your cup and saucer on the tray and stand up. You walk over to Aunt Zelda and wrap her in a hug. “I’m sorry about the lottery, but Sabrina and I can’t lose you, you’re all we have left.” Aunt Zelda holds onto you tightly. She sighs.

“Someday, you will learn that everything I do is for the benefit of this family.” She says quietly.

“And someday, you will learn that everything I do is for the benefit of this family, you included.” You reply as she lets go of you. 

“You needn’t worry about me, niece. I can take care of myself.” She says proudly.

“Just because you can doesn’t mean you should have to, Auntie.” You reply, matching her tone before teleporting to the academy. Prudence stares at you as you appear in front of her.

“Prudence, I need to talk to you,” Sabrina says as she rushes into the room. She pauses as she notices you in the room. “Did you sort that out already?” She asks.

“Yes, and you really need to learn to teleport.” You reply. 

“I'm being fitted for my Feast Day dress,” Prudence complains.

“It was premature of me to accuse Father Blackwood of having an agenda when he chose you as queen,” Sabrina says.

“Finally. You've come to-”

“Instead, I think it might be Lady Blackwood who wants you dead,” Sabrina says quickly.

“What a blasphemous creature you are.” Prudence sighs with irritation. You roll your eyes at her.

“You said Father Blackwood treats you like a daughter. Is it possible you actually are his daughter?” You notice Prudence’s face change and Dorcas and Agatha share a look. “Because if you were, Lady Blackwood would see you as a threat.”

“Have you completely lost your mind?” Prudence chuckles.

“She’s trying to save your miserable little life, so I’d say yes.” You spit.

“Maybe,” Sabrina says. “But why does Father Blackwood take care of you?”

“Because he's charitable.”

“If you were Father Blackwood's daughter-” 

“You could one day lay claim to the Church of Night, this school, everything, but you'd have to get rid of his legitimate heirs first.” You say, trying to end this stupidity.

“Stop this. Please, stop this.” Prudence begs her voice beginning to shake.

“If Lady Blackwood had it out for you, wouldn't it be convenient for her if you were sacrificed at the Feast of Feasts?” Sabrina asks.

“For the last time, it is the Dark Lord's will that I am to be queen.”

“What if it's the will of a witch? Of a pregnant witch with a grudge against you and your sisters?

“She was at our home.” You say. “She was going on about how you're plotting against her and how she needed to hurt you before you could hurt her.”

“Do you have even a shred of proof? Besides Lady Blackwood's hysterical ramblings?” Prudence says shakily.

“Aunt Zelda said that Lady Blackwood’s pregnancy is a difficult one. Twins are not easy to carry, even more so with the previous miscarriages she’s had. Aunt Zelda also said that intense spellcasting would cause a lot of strain on her pregnancy, and the symptoms she explained to our aunt seem to point to the idea that Lady Blackwood cast a spell that took a lot out of her.” You reply.

“It’s just a hunch. But Lady Blackwood was holding the lottery box.” Sabrina adds. “Please, Prudence, I know you have complete faith that this is all the Dark Lord's will, and everything is going according to his plan but if there's even a shadow of doubt in your mind, don't you want to know the truth? She'd be murdering you in front of the entire coven.”

“If I were to entertain this fantasy of yours how do you suggest we proceed, handmaiden?”

“Every Queen of the Feast deserves a last supper, right?” Sabrina smiles, already formulating a plan.   
“Finish up the dress and come to our house, bring your sisters. We’ll have a last supper with Father Blackwood and Lady Blackwood.”

“I found a recipe for a truth cake in Aunt Hilda’s secret recipes.” You mention. “We could probably get her to bake it.”

“You know where Aunt Hilda’s secret recipes are?”

“Of course I do.” You roll your eyes. 

“We can have Aunt Hilda bake it and serve it to Father Blackwood and Lady Blackwood. Everyone can just pick at their cake and then we can ask our questions.” Sabrina smiles.

“We just have one issue.” You say.

“What?”

“Aunt Zelda will never let us get away with putting a spell on the High Priest and his wife.”

“She will if her queen commands her.” Prudence smiles.

“That’s a great idea, Prudence!” You smile. “I don’t think our aunt will accept a command from a teenage witch. Ambrose tried to command her once and it didn’t go well for him.” You think to Sabrina. 

“Why are you encouraging it?” She thinks back.

“Because it’ll be hilarious.” You force back a smirk.

“Then it’s settled. We’ll go back home and talk to our aunts. You girls finish your dress and meet us at our house.” Sabrina says to Prudence and her sisters.”

“We will be there,” Prudence says with a smile. You sigh as you teleport yourself and Sabrina home.

“How did it go, girls?” Aunt Zelda asks from the parlor. 

“We’re having Father Blackwood and Lady Blackwood over for Prudence’s last supper. Tell them their queen requested it and it would be good to observe Lady Blackwood’s condition.” You say to Aunt Zelda as you walk into the parlor.

“Are you asking or telling?” Aunt Hilda asks with a smile as she appears behind you and places her hands on your shoulder.

“Telling. Will you make your truth cake?”

“What truth cake?” She scoffs. “I don’t know how to make a truth cake.”

“You have a recipe for it in your secret stash of magical foods.” You say innocently.

“H-how do you know about that?” She asks.

“I’m a magical being that has been left to its own devices since for the last eight years. I’ve gotten into all sorts of things you don’t know about.” You smile innocently. Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda share a look that says ‘we made a mistake and we will be learning the repercussions of it later on’.

“Right.” She sighs with a smile. “Alright, I’ll make a truth cake. But what do you need a truth cake for?”

“To find out if Lady Blackwood rigged the raffle,” Sabrina says.

“I’ll help with the cake, you prepare the house.” You say to Sabrina.

“That’s not fair!” She complains. “I hate setting up the parlor for guests.

“Too late! I chose first!” You argue. 

“But I’m older!”

“But I said it first!”

“I’m older!”

“I said it first!”

“You’re better at decorating!”

“I am not! I’m a creator, not a decorator!”

“But you can use magic to move stuff around!” 

“I can use magic to make a cake too!”

“I want to help with the cake!”

“I already said I would!”

“Girls!” Aunt Zelda booms. “This is no time to argue over petty things. I will help Sabrina set up the parlor and Y/N will help Hilda with the cake.” She says as she rubs her head. 

“Come on, love, let’s get started!” Aunt Hilda smiles to you. You follow her into the kitchen. “So, to start, close your eyes so I can get my secret recipes out.” Aunt Hilda says.

“But I already know where they are.” You say innocently. “The recipe for truth cake is taped up under-”

“That’s enough, love.” Aunt Hilda says quickly as she takes the recipe from its hiding place. “We need sugar, butter, eggs, some truth serum, the heart of a newborn child, flour, whipped cream, and some gold-colored sugar flakes for decoration.” She smiles.

“Where are the hearts?” You ask as you gather the ingredients and set them on the counter.

“It’s with the potions, check in the back.” You go to the shelves of potions and look for hearts. “Do you know why we need the heart of a newborn?”

“Because newborns haven’t been able to lie?” You reply, unsure of the correct response.

“Not quite. Newborn hearts are small, if they were larger, like an adult heart, the taste would overpower the cake.”

“Why can’t you just cut up an adult heart into smaller pieces? Preserved, they last forever anyway and they’re much easier to get than newborn hearts.” You pick up the jar of hearts and read the label.   
“These aren’t even real hearts, they’re imitation!” You smirk, holding out the jar to your aunt.

“Well, it’s difficult to get newborn hearts. It’s not like the old times when it was extremely common for mother or child to pass away during or shortly after childbirth.” She takes the jar from you, opens it, places a heart in a large mixing bowl, closes the jar, and hands it back to you to put away.

“But you and Aunt Zelda never lost a baby.” You say as you put the jar back in its place. 

“We didn’t. But We’ve buried bodies for quite a long time.”

“So how do you get imitation newborn hearts?” You ask, wondering what makes them like actual hearts.

“I got that from Sister Julia a long time ago, but Sister Julia passed away some two hundred years ago.”

“Were you friends with her?” You ask as you watch her pour flour into the bowl and break a few eggs.

“Oh no, I couldn’t stand her. She always acted like she was better than everyone else because she slept with-”

“Y/N, Father Blackwood will be here any moment. I suggest you make yourself presentable.” Aunt Zelda says from the kitchen entryway.

“Yes, Auntie.” You reply.

“Hilda, move over, I’m going to be cooking the main course for the High Priest and Lady Blackwood.” Aunt Zelda says proudly as you leave the kitchen. You quickly leave the kitchen, fearing for your safety. Aunt Hilda prefers a hands-on way of cooking, using her hands to control things, but Aunt Zelda doesn’t. Aunt Zelda’s method of cooking usually has knives, spoons, ingredients, and blasts of fire flying through the air. Aunt Zelda is a wonderful cook, even better than Aunt Hilda, but it’s dangerous to be in the kitchen when she’s cooking. “Digging up the past, sister?” You hear Aunt Zelda playfully ask Aunt Hilda. You walk up the stairs to your room and pass Sabrina.

“Are you ready?” You ask her.

“Yes. Are you?”

“I don’t have any other choice. Father Blackwood and Lady Blackwood have already been invited, right?”

“Right.” She smiles. “Remember, you’re doing a good thing.”

“A good thing for who?” You roll your eyes as you walk to your room. You spin into your funeral outfit, an outfit a mortal would wear to a funeral is an outfit a witch would wear to a formal event or when being graced with the High Priest’s presence. At least, that’s what Aunt Zelda always tells you. You glance at the picture of your parents. “Please let Sabrina be right, or we’re going to be in so much trouble.” You sigh to the picture before walking downstairs. As you reach the bottom of the steps, there is a knock at the front door. You quickly walk to the door and open it. “Father Blackwood, Lady Blackwood, please, come in.” You smile. Sabrina appears at your side as you open the door to allow the High Priest and his wife into the house.

“Happy Thanks, um, Feast of Feasts,” Sabrina says. You give her a look. How could she almost wish the High Priest and his wife a happy Thanksgiving?

“Blessed Feast.” Father Blackwood and Lady Blackwood reply.

“We'll be dining in the parlor this evening.” You and Sabrina lead your guests into the Parlor. Prudence and her sisters stop the four of you with Aunt Zelda and Ambrose behind them.

“Wow!” Lady Blackwood exclaims when she sees Prudence in her dress. “Prudence, you look stunning. You must be filled with such-”

“I'm filled with ecstasy, Lady Blackwood, yes.” Prudence cuts her off.

“Shall we eat?” Sabrina asks with a fake smile. Everyone begins to walk towards the table.

“If I may.” Father Blackwood stops everyone. Thank you to Queen Prudence for the sacrifice she makes tonight for the coven.”

“And where is your sister Hilda?” Lady Blackwood asks suddenly during such a somber moment.

“Given her disenfranchised status, I didn't think it was appropriate for her to join us.”

“Also, she's making dessert.” You and Sabrina add before taking your seats.

“Remember, twins, best behavior.” Aunt Zelda whispers into your ears as she quickly walks past the two of you to her seat. She sits at the head of one side of the table with you sitting to her right and Sabrina to her left. Father Blackwood sits opposite Aunt Zelda with Lady Blackwood on his left and Ambrose on his right. Usually sitting to Aunt Zelda’s right makes you feel proud like you have some sort of importance in the situation, but you know she has you and Sabrina so close to her so she can easily send her warnings or control you if either of you misbehaves.

The meal is tense and quiet. Aunt Zelda did a wonderful job making a roast, but everyone is suspicious of someone. Lady Blackwood of Prudence and her sisters, Prudence of Sabrina and you, Father Blackwood of everyone, and Aunt Zelda of everyone but Father Blackwood.

“This was a lovely meal, Sister Zelda. You’ve truly outdone yourself.” Father Blackwood says as you and Sabrina stand and gather everyone’s plates.

“Thank you, Father Blackwood.” Aunt Zelda smiles as she takes a sip of her drink. “Y/N, Sabrina,” Aunt Zelda turns her attention to the two of you as you head to the kitchen, “see if Hilda has finished dessert yet. We don’t want to keep Father Blackwood and Lady Blackwood waiting.”

“Yes, Auntie.” You reply, hoping Sabrina doesn’t open her mouth. The two of you walk into the kitchen to see a huge purple cake on the counter and Aunt Hilda smiling proudly. The two of you set the dishes in the sink and look at the cake.

“Aunt Hilda, you've outdone yourself.” Sabrina smiles.

“I hope so. This is my mom's secret recipe when she thought my dad was having an affair.” Aunt Hilda laughs.

“How long will it take to work?” You ask.

“Uh, should be instantaneous.” Aunt Hilda says thoughtfully. You take in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Are you ready?”

“We can’t keep our guests waiting.” You say nervously. If this goes wrong, everyone, including Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda, could be in trouble.

“And now, for the piéce de résistance, our Aunt Hilda's brown butter marchpane cake with brandied currants.” Sabrina smiles.

“Mmm, looks delicious but I want to save room for later.” Lady Blackwood says.

“Nonsense, Lady Blackwood. You're eating for three, remember?” Aunt Zelda smiles.

“Faustus?” Lady Blackwood asks. You don’t like that she asks permission from her husband. She is her own person, why should she have to ask permission to do something for herself? The attention turns to Father Blackwood.

“When can one be gluttonous, if not on the Feast of Feasts?” Father Blackwood asks.

“Oh, I agree,” Sabrina replies, turning the attention to her. “Heartily.” You suppress an eye roll. “Would you like to cut the cake, sister, or should I?” Sabrina asks you.

“You can cut it; I will serve it to our unholy guests.” You smile sweetly. Sabrina cuts slices of the cake and places them on a plate. She hands you the plate and you bring it to one of the guests, starting with Father Blackwood and Lady Blackwood, then Aunt Zelda, Ambrose, Prudence, Dorcas, Agatha, Sabrina, and then yourself.

“I hope our twins get along as well as yours do, Sister Zelda.” Lady Blackwood compliments.

“Thank-you, Lady Blackwood.” Aunt Zelda smiles. Her smile is both proud and painful. “With you and Father Blackwood as their parents, I have no doubt that they may surpass… my… twins.” She says. You can tell that she doesn’t know how to handle calling you and Sabrina her twins. You look at her and smile, trying to convey the silent message that it’s okay. Once everyone has their cake and you and Sabrina sit back down, and Father Blackwood and Lady Blackwood begin to eat their cake, Sabrina speaks.

“As a recent convert, Father Blackwood, I'm curious, why did you decide to reinstate Feast Day after my father outlawed it?” Sabrina asks.

“When I became High Priest after Edward died, the Dark Lord revealed that I must return to our centuries-old traditions.” He says as he gently stabs the table with his fork. “Sometimes, the old ways are best.” Father Blackwood answers.

“What a divine revelation.” Lady Blackwood smiles.

“Are you enjoying this year's Feast Day, Lady Blackwood?” You ask politely.

“Oh, I'm thrilled by it.” Lady Blackwood smiles. 

“Well,” Sabrina sighs, “I hope you're satisfied with your last supper, Prudence. We'll all miss you when you're gone, won't we?”

“In body and soul,” Ambrose says. “Mostly body.” He adds with a smirk. Aunt Zelda shoots him a glare from across the table, but he quickly lowers his head so he is unable to see it.

“I'll miss you so much,” Dorcas says.

“Me too,” Agatha replies.

“I won't.” Lady Blackwood says. All the attention turns to her.

“And why is that?” Prudence asks.

“You're a stain and we're better off without you.” Lady Blackwood says flatly.

“Constance, Prudence is our queen.” Father Blackwood says.

“No, she's not my queen, she's a bastard.” Lady Blackwood replies, becoming nervous as she realizes she is not in control of what she says.

“When was the last time you cast a spell, Lady Blackwood? Are you experiencing the ill effects of spellcasting?” You ask innocently. 

“The night of Feast Day lottery.” She answers.

“And what spell did you cast?” Sabrina asks.

“I enchanted the ballot box to favor Prudence as queen.” She says quickly.

“Why would you do that?” Father Blackwood asks in surprise.

“Because she and her slut sisters are your seed. Because you are a voracious slut yourself and that means trouble for my children.” Tense silence falls upon the room, except for Ambrose slurping his drink. 

“Leave it to Ambrose to ruin a moment.” You think to Sabrina.

“I'm so sorry, husband. I'm not sure why I'm unburdening myself like this.” Lady Blackwood says quietly.

“It's because your queen requested a special cake for her last supper,” Prudence says venomously.

“Aunt Hilda's truth cake. One bite and you cannot lie.” You and Sabrina say at the same time with smiles on your faces.

“It really is quite an interesting recipe. Hand created by Grandmother Spellman.” You say proudly as though you hadn’t just been told the origins of the recipe. Father Blackwood looks down at his empty plate.

“Constance, how dare you interfere with the Dark Lord's will.” Father Blackwood growls. You watch his grip on his glass tighten. “Have you any idea the scandal, the blasphemy you've brought upon the church?” The glass shatters like a balloon that had just popped. Father Blackwood trembles with anger.

“I'm sorry.” Lady Blackwood whispers.

“Are you my father, then?” Prudence asks. Father Blackwood tries to fight the spell for a moment.

“I am.” He finial admits.

“I wouldn’t want to admit to being her parent either.” You mumble quietly. You think no one can hear you, but you get a deadly glare from Aunt Zelda.

“And my mother?” Prudence asks.

“Dead.”

“By your hand?” You and Sabrina ask at the same time.

“Twins!” Aunt Zelda scolds.

“Indirectly. She threw herself in a river because I would not marry her.” He says painfully as he tries to break free of the spell.

“I see,” Prudence whispers.

“Are we your daughters, too?” Agatha and Dorcas ask.

“Hmm? No, you're just orphans.” Father Blackwood says nonchalantly. Dorcas and Agatha look disappointed. You feel sorry for them, for a moment they thought they had the possibility of a family only for it to be taken from them. You and Sabrina are lucky that Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda took the two of you in when Mother and Father died or else you might have suffered the same fate as they did. You look at Prudence and see tears in her eyes.

“Prudence?” Sabrina says to her, trying to comfort her.

“So, you were right, Sabrina.” Prudence sobs. “The Dark Lord doesn't want me to be his queen.”

“The coven, the coven must meet straight away. To redraw for a new queen.” Father Blackwood realizes.

“Or the Dark Lord could come to you with a new revelation.” You suggest.

“One that compels you to outlaw the feast. This year and every year to come.” Sabrina adds.

“And what's been revealed at this table tonight will never be spoken of again.” You finish.

“Whatever happens, I want to wear the dress and-and sit on the throne of skulls,” Prudence says. “Can I, please, Father?”

“I would say she deserves it.” You say bravely. “Afterall, she has looked forward to this her whole life.” You look at Prudence with a small smile on your face. She gives you a small smile.

“Fine.” Father Blackwood sighs. “Meet me at the church in an hour.” He says as he stands up and leaves the house with Lady Blackwood following behind him. At the sound of the front door closing, Aunt Hilda emerges.

“How did it go?” She asks all of you. Aunt Zelda is quiet, somewhat unnerved by upsetting Father Blackwood and Lady Blackwood.

“I think it went very well. We proved that Lady Blackwood rigged the raffle and we may have gotten rid of the Feast of Feasts.” Sabrina smiles as she picks up the dishes. Aunt Hilda picks up the cake the two of them go into the kitchen. You look at Dorcas and Agatha.

“I’m sorry.” You say to the two of them. They give you confused looks.

“About what?” Agatha asks.

“I saw the look in your eyes when Father Blackwood said he was Prudence’s father. You hoped he was your father too.” They don’t look at you. “I understand.”

“How could you possibly understand?” Dorcas asks. You chuckle.

“I’m an orphan too. My mother and father were killed in a plane crash when Sabrina and I were just babies. I have no memory of them. We just happened to be lucky that Father had two sisters who were willing to take on twins.” You look at Aunt Zelda with a smile. “Although, I’m certain they had no idea what they were getting into when they agreed to take us.” Aunt Zelda smiles slightly. “I remember, when I was really small, I kept expecting my mother and father to walk in the door. I knew they were dead, but I didn’t know what dead meant. I didn’t know it was permanent. I thought that it’d be like on TV, where they would just walk through the door one stormy day, tell some amazing tale about how they managed to survive, and we’d all be a happy family. I had the same hope you two did when Father Blackwood said he was Prudence’s father. But then Ambrose showed me a body downstairs and showed me what death really was. It was then that I realized I would never meet my mother and father. I’d never hear their voice or see their face or watch my father work or hear my mother laugh. The difference between you and me and that you two have a chance of your parents being out there somewhere. I don’t.” The two witches are silent for a moment.

“I will meet you at the church, sisters,” Prudence says, wiping away her tears and composing herself. “I want to speak to Y/N.” Dorcas and Agatha nod before standing up and leaving the room.

“Zelda, can you come in here for a moment?” Aunt Hilda calls from the kitchen. Aunt Zelda rolls her eyes as she stands up and leaves the room, leaving you and Prudence alone. Prudence stands up and sits in the empty chair next to you.

“Thank-you, Y/N,” Prudence says

“For what?” You ask.

“For what you said to my sisters and for what you said to my father about me sitting on the throne.”

“We don’t get along, Prudence.” You say. “But you’re right, we’re more alike than either of us want to be. We’re both part of the same coven, so we’re going to be seeing each other often for the rest of our lives, and we live a long time. Why bother nursing a rivalry for hundreds of years?”

“Very well spoken.” She says. 

“Thank-you.” You reply. “We may never be friends, but we shouldn’t waste our time and energy being enemies. After all, we’re both children of high priests.”

“That is true.” She holds her hand out to you. “I won’t hurt you or your family if you don’t hurt me or mine.”

“Agreed.” You shake her hand. “But I meant what I said about my sister’s mortals. You three will be the first I go to if something happens to them that can’t be explained by mortal means.”

“Understood.” She replies. 

“Y/N, Prudence, we need to get going to the church,” Sabrina says as she pops her head into the room.

“Okay.” You reply. “She was listening to the whole thing.” You say to Prudence. She chuckles. “So was Aunt Hilda and possibly Aunt Zelda.” Prudence rolls her eyes. “So, are you walking or teleport-” You turn your attention back to Prudence to see that she has disappeared. “You’re teleporting.” You sigh. “Aunt Zelda was right, that is rude and awkward.” You say to yourself. You find Sabrina, Aunt Hilda, and Aunt Zelda by the front door.

“Behave yourselves, girls. Don’t run off, don’t push any buttons.” Aunt Hilda says as she hands you and Sabrina your coats.

“Yes, Auntie.” You smile as you and Sabrina put on your coats.

“Good girl.” She smiles back. You, Aunt Zelda, and Sabrina join hands and teleport to the church. The three of you stand outside for a moment, waiting for someone to make the first move.

“Let’s see what happens,” Sabrina says with a shrug as she walks towards the church. Aunt Zelda reaches out and grabs her, grabbing your arm in the process.

“We are not having a repeat of our last visit to the church.” She complains. You and Sabrina are silent as you are led into the church. Aunt Zelda leads the two of you to the front row of the church. You sit on Aunt Zelda’s left and Sabrina sits on her right. The church is filled with commotion. Prudence sits upon the throne of skulls in her dress. A small choir of girls dressed in black stands to her left. Your mind flashes back to when you stood on the podium as the same crowd watched your naked body be inspected by a creature. You surpass a disgusted shiver. A few moments, the choir begins to sing. They sing the same haunting song they sing every year. You don’t listen to it much though. Your mind wanders to just how much has happened in this church. You grew up in this church. Aunt Zelda loved to take you here as a child. There were many days where Aunt Hilda would dress you and Sabrina exactly alike, Aunt Zelda would complain about it all the way to the church and then brag about how adorable the two of you were to the other members. You remember the very rare days when Aunt Zelda was unable to take you to church so Aunt Hilda took you and your sister by herself, on those days, Aunt Hilda often gave you and Sabrina some kind of sweet afterward, something Aunt Zelda didn’t approve of but the two of you weren’t about to tell her for fear she’d put an end to Aunt Hilda’s treat. Sometimes, it was just you and Aunt Zelda. You loved those days as a child. Everyone would whisper about you as you walked past them, a smile on your face as you held your aunt’s hand or as she held onto you. She used to tell you that they were whispering about how cute and well behaved you were and how proud they all were of you. Now that you’re older, you know they weren’t. They were whispering about you being a mongrel, how you didn’t belong in the church, how you are an abomination, an insult to the Dark Lord.

“I've been fasting for days.” The woman sitting next to you whispers excitedly to the three of you, snapping you out of your thoughts, as the song ends. You hadn’t realized someone sat next to you. You recognize her as Sister Mildred. Father Blackwood enters the room with Lady Blackwood at his side. Father Blackwood stands next to Prudence.

“Brethren, sisters, a very unholy night to you all.” He says.

“And also to you.” Everyone replies to him.

“Each year, the Feast of Feasts commemorates the selfless sacrifice that saved our coven.”

“Praise Freya! Praise Freya! Praise Freya!” The crowd chants, their knives ready to cut the young witch’s flesh.

“Praise Freya!” He says. “However tonight, I must be the reluctant bearer of dark tidings. In an unexpected turn of events, through circumstances entirely out of our control,” he looks at Lady Blackwood, “Prudence Night cannot fulfill her duty as Queen of the Feast.”

“Blasphemy!” Sister Mildred yells. 

“We are ravenous.” Someone yells.

“We must feast!” Someone else yells. You feel your body tense up as the crowd begins to get riled up. Mutt, tramp, half-breed, useless, good for nothing. The words you remember filling your head during your trial come back to you as the crowd talks among themselves. Aunt Zelda grabs your hand protectively and squeezes it, bringing you out of your memories as she places her other hand on Sabrina’s. You can tell she feels nervous knowing the three of you are in a room full of witches and warlocks with not only weapons but also magic.

“Moreover! Moreover! The Dark Lord has revealed to me that this year…. there shall not be-”

“Freya lives! Praise Satan!” Sister Mildred shouts as she stands up. Everyone stares at the woman as she stands before the church and slits her throat. She falls to the ground. Gasps escape the crowd. People stand up, waiting for Father Blackwood’s approval to consume the corpse.

“All Hail, Mildred! Queen of the Feast!” He shouts after a moment.

“Hail Mildred! Queen of the Feast!” The crowd rushes to eat the newly dead body. You stare at them as they do so, too shocked to move or react. Aunt Zelda has taken you to the Feast of Feasts before when you were young, and you always found it fascinating to watch the crowd eat another witch. Aunt Zelda even partook in it several years when she felt you were safe enough to be left in a pew by yourself without wandering off. Sabrina always stayed home with Aunt Hilda. But this year was different from other years. A woman just slit her own throat. In front of the coven. It takes about a minute to die from a wound like that, so she had to still be alive as she was being eaten, at least for part of it. Usually, the queen was given a sedative so she wouldn’t feel the pain.

“That could have been us.” You think to yourself as you watch the crowd. They rip the body apart and blood drips onto the floor, coating their hands and faces and clothes. “That could have been Aunt Zelda.” The crowd fights like rabid dogs as they feast on the body. They do every year, but this year is different. This year it was almost your family being eaten. You imagine the body being Aunt Zelda. You ball your hands into fists, trying to hide the fact that they’re shaking. You feel sick like you’re going to vomit. No one deserves such a gruesome end. Not even Prudence. Not even the boys who beat you up. You close your eyes at the cracking of bones and ripping of flesh. You can’t get the image of that body being Aunt Zelda or Sabrina out of your head. This year it was too close to one of them being chosen. You can’t take the noise anymore and rush outside. You go to the back of the church and take deep breaths. The images from inside the church keep playing over and over again in your mind, you can’t make them stop. You sit down with your back against the church and hug your knees to your chest. You close your eyes and try to force yourself to think of other things. You soon hear footsteps walking toward you from the side of the church.

“Let’s go home, girls.” Aunt Zelda says quietly as she and Sabrina look down at you.

“Yes, ma’am.” You say quietly as you stand up. The three of you join hands and teleport home, appearing on the front porch. The three of you enter the house quietly. Aunt Zelda immediately heads for the stairs.

“Aunt Zelda?” You and Sabrina ask.

“Yes, girls?” She sighs tiredly.

“What would have happened if it were us who were selected queen and not Prudence? Would you have let them do to us what was done to Mildred?” You look into Aunt Zelda’s eyes as you speak. You can tell that she’s taken back by your question. For a brief moment, her mouth moves, but no sound comes out.

“Never.” She says simply but protectively. 

“She’s going to cry if we don’t leave her alone.” You think to Sabrina in a panic.

“But if it was the Dark Lord's will?” Sabrina asks. You give Sabrina a confused look. Aunt Zelda would never disobey the Dark Lord.

“It wouldn't have mattered. Now please, girls. I'm tired.” She says before going upstairs. You watch her disappear from view. Sabrina goes to your room. You sit in the parlor and light a fire, letting your mind wander as you stare at the flames. You can’t get the image of Mildred’s body out of your head. You keep reliving that moment over and over again, the silver blade dragging across her skin, cutting through it and allowing the blood to flow, flowing down her neck onto her gown as she falls to the floor. Was it painful? Why would she do such a thing? Was it truly the Dark Lord’s will for his children to die in such a way? What were Mildred’s last thoughts? How will they honor her passing? What if it was Aunt Zelda instead of Mildred? What if it was you and Sabrina instead of Mildred? You stew in your thoughts until a hand is placed on your shoulder.

“Erm, Y/N, Zelda wants to see you in the kitchen.” Aunt Hilda says, snapping you out of your thoughts.

“I didn’t hear her come downstairs.” You reply as you stand up and stretch. You rub your eyes as you lazily walk into the kitchen to see Aunt Zelda. She’s wearing a new outfit and working on a potion. “What do you need, Aunt Zelda?” You ask. She doesn’t answer. “Aunt Zelda?” You ask again as you walk closer to her. You pause when you hear something creak on the kitchen table. You turn to see a black bassinette slowly rocking on the table, obviously being rocked by a spell. You cautiously approach it to see a baby wrapped in black blankets sleeping in the bassinette. “Aunt Zelda, where did this baby come from?” You ask. “Whose is it?”

“It’s Edward’s and Diana’s.” Aunt Zelda’s voice says from behind you. You spin around to see a second Aunt Zelda face you, this one wearing the outfit Aunt Zelda was wearing at the Feast of Feasts. You look at the first Aunt Zelda and then the one in front of you.

“W-who are you?”

“I’m your aunt. Honestly, you act like you’ve never traveled to the past before.” She sighs as she walks past you and looks into the bassinette.

“That’s because I haven’t.” You say questioningly. “Is this what you wanted to see me about?”

“No, Hilda told me you were injured and needed my help.” She says. “Obviously Hilda enchanted the room to replay an event and she wants both of us to see it.” She sighs. “That batwit.” She mumbles more to herself than you. 

“So, who is that?” You ask, nodding to the bassinette.

“That’s you when you were a baby. This wasn’t long after Edward and Diana had passed away. A few days at the most.”

“So, what are we supposed to do?”

“Just sit back and watch the past replay itself.” Aunt Zelda says, staring into the bassinette. You stand beside her to see a small baby wrapped in black blankets sleeping soundly. Aunt Zelda reaches her hand into the bassinette to touch the baby, but her hand passes through it. You notice a sad look in her eyes that she quickly tries to hide.

“Zelda, have you seen the little baby? I can’t find her anywhere!” Aunt Hilda bursts into the room. The noise causes the baby to startle and cry.

“Honestly Hilda, why do you have to run about yelling like that?” The past Aunt Zelda scolds her sister as she rushes to the bassinette and picks up the baby. The past Aunt Zelda cradles the baby in her arms.

“I’m sorry, I was just worried since Sabrina was in the nursery, but Y/N wasn’t. I was afraid something had happened to her, that maybe she was a target for something.”

“If they were going to steal the child of a high priest, they would have taken the firstborn, not the second.”

“They’re identical Zelda. They look exactly alike. No one but Edward, Diana, and the two of us can tell them apart. They could have tried for Sabrina but gotten Y/N instead.”

“Do you honestly think I haven’t thought of that and taken care of the very idea? I’m well aware of the ruckus Edward’s marriage to a mortal, the birth of his half-bred children, and his death has made within the last century. But if something were to happen to either of the twins, I would be the first to know about it. Now go upstairs and pick up Sabrina’s pacifier. It’s just fallen on the floor and she’s about to cry.” Before Aunt Hilda can reply, a baby’s cries can be heard from upstairs. “Before you go, hand me the bottle of whiskey and my glass.”

“Hilda and I were paranoid that you and Sabrina could be in danger after Edward’s death. As you know, the coven doesn’t exactly approve of mortals.” Aunt Zelda defends her past self.

“You shouldn’t drink so much while caring for a baby.” Aunt Hilda says going over to the liquor cabinet and trying to open it. “Why can’t I open anything in this house?” She complains.

“It’s a child-proof spell, Hilda.” Aunt Zelda says flatly.

“Are you sure it isn’t Hilda proof?” She asks in frustration. Aunt Zelda rolls her eyes before flicking her wrist. The cabinet pops open. 

“The bottle is for the potion, by the way, you nitwit. I’ve only had the one glass and I can’t use the whiskey I’ve been drinking because it’s been diluted with ice.” She sighs as Aunt Hilda sets the bottle beside the cauldron and leaves the room. The past Aunt Zelda continues to cradle the crying child. “Shh, it’s okay, I’ve got you.” You look at your Aunt Zelda, she’s staring at the baby, but she places a hand on your shoulder. “You can stop crying, I won’t let anyone hurt you. You and Sabrina are all I have left.” Your Aunt Zelda says at the same time as the past Aunt Zelda. The memory suddenly stops, and Aunt Zelda closes her eyes. You watch her for a moment. You can tell she’s trying to keep herself composed. You wrap her in a hug.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you.” You repeat the words she once said to you. Aunt Zelda lets out a small laugh. She rests her chin on your head and kisses the top of it. You look up at her and smile before you let go of her. You look at the past Aunt Zelda, frozen in time with you in her arms. “That’s enough.” You say as you wave your hand in a gentle slicing motion. The past Aunt Zelda and the baby begin to fade away and the kitchen fades into its present time, although it doesn’t look much different. “I understand now.” You say, looking at your aunt. She sighs. 

“You should at least hear the rest of the story.” She replies as she sits at the table. “You were crying, and I was distracted and tired. It’s a lot of work raising twins, especially when there were four of us doing it and suddenly we were down to two. I put the cup I had been drinking out of into the potion by mistake and didn’t realize it until after you had already taken the potion. I’m sorry.” You are silent for a moment, unsure of what to say. You stand in front of her and place your hands on her shoulders and look into her tired green eyes.

“I forgive you, Zelda.” You decide to say. You pretend to be your father, or how you think your father would react. “No one has ever blamed you for what happened, and no one ever will.” Aunt Zelda blinks, unsure of how to take your words. Instead, she quickly stands up and wraps you into a tight hug. She holds onto you as though you could vanish at any moment.

“How did you become so much like your father?” She says just above a whisper.

“I have a couple of amazing aunts who refuse to let his memory die.” You reply.

“Ah, I see the two of you have finally made up.” Aunt Hilda smiles as she walks into the kitchen, totally ruining the moment. Aunt Zelda gives her a flat look as she wipes away at the tears that prickled her eyes.

“It’s late, Y/N, you should get ready for bed.” Aunt Zelda sighs. “I have something I need to discuss with my sister.” She says venomously as she looks at Aunt Hilda.

“It’s supposed to rain tomorrow, you may want to wait on killing her unless you want mud tracked through the house.” You say with a smile. 

“That won’t stop her, love, but that’s for trying.” Aunt Hilda replies as she backs out of the kitchen and rushes off through the house. You look at Aunt Zelda as you try to suppress a smile.

“That batwit has to sleep eventually.” She grumbles to herself. She looks at you. “Get some rest, it’s been a long day for all of us.” 

“Yes, Auntie.” You smile before going to your room. Sabrina is already asleep. You spin into your pajamas and climb into your bed. Edward stands on your headboard and looks down at you. “You’re a horrible familiar, do you know that? Where are you when bad things happen? I had to deal with Prudence all day and you were nowhere to be found!” You complain to the owl. He lets out an irritated sigh before jumping off the headboard onto your head and falling asleep. You roll your eyes at the familiar and soon fall asleep yourself.


	15. Chapter 8 Part 1

“Bacon, cous?” Ambrose offers as he walks into the room with a plate of food. Sabrina is listening to the radio while doodling in a notebook and you sit beside her with a spellbook in your lap. You want to find the spell Aunt Hilda cast on the kitchen last night. 

“Eww. No.” Sabrina replies. “After what I saw at the Church of Night yesterday, I am fasting.” Ambrose climbs over the chair you and Sabrina are sitting in and sits next to you. “Maybe for the rest of my life, but definitely until later tonight.” She says.

“Oh? Big plans?” He asks. You roll your eyes.

“Mmm, after Harvey's shift, we're going to the movies.” She smiles.

“How casually you can say that. Soon, Luke and I will be able to do the same.”

“Fun, but how's that gonna work?” Sabrina asks.

“Luke has a connection with the High Priest. He's offered to speak with Father Blackwood on my behalf to get my conviction overturned.”

“Ambrose, you're smitten.” Sabrina smiles as you close your book, frustrated with the extra noise in the room. You don’t mind noise as you study, you quite enjoy the radio playing, but once the radio is playing and people are talking, it becomes difficult to focus. You stand up and begin to walk out of the room when Aunt Zelda rushes in.

“Where's your Aunt Hilda?” She asks the three of you.

“She's working at the bookstore, Auntie.” You reply.

“Remember, it's Black Friday,” Sabrina adds.

“It most certainly is not.” Aunt Zelda glares.

“No, I don't mean witches' Black Friday.” You see the confused look on Aunt Zelda’s face. “I mean it's Black Friday for mortals. It's the busiest shopping day of the year.”

“It's also one of our busiest times.” Aunt Zelda complains as the phone rings. You pick up the phone.

“Spellman Mortuary, this is Y/N, how may I help you?” You say into the phone.

“The Kemper bodies are already on their way, and Satan knows who else.” Aunt Zelda complains. 

“I’m looking for Hilda or Zelda. Are they in?” A voice on the phone asks.

“One moment please.” You say before holding the phone out to Aunt Zelda.

“Spellman Mortuary, this is Zelda.” She says as she takes the phone. Aunt Zelda’s face falls as she listens to the person speaking on the other end of the line. “No, we hadn't heard.” She says, her tone becoming more serious than agitated. She looks at the three of you as she takes the phone away from her mouth. “Sabrina, there's been an accident down at the mines.” She says softly to your sister.

“But Harvey,” Sabrina gasps as she jumps up.

“Go. And pray to Satan he's all right.” Aunt Zelda says to her. Sabrina runs off and gets her coat. “Go look after your sister.” Aunt Zelda says to you. You nod in reply. You go into the kitchen and toss an apple and an orange into your pockets and grab your coat, struggling to get it on as you race after Sabrina, who is already running down the driveway. 

“Sabrina, wait!” You call out to her as you run after her, your unbuttoned coat flapping behind you in the wind.

“We have to get to the mines!” She yells back. You catch up to her and grab her arm. You close your eyes and focus on the woods near the mines, just far enough out of everyone’s view. When you open your eyes again, you are both a few yards away from the mine. You can hear the sirens in the distance. Sabrina takes off towards the mines and you do your best to keep up with her as she makes her way through the crowd of people.

“Hey, hey! I'm looking for Harvey Kinkle. Uh, who do I talk to about-” No one notices your sister, they are all too concerned about the mine, and rightfully so. You can’t help but think that everyone looks like ants, desperately trying to accomplish something when their mound has been damaged. “Excuse me. Have you seen Harvey Kinkle?” She asks someone else, becoming more panicked as the two of you get closer to the mine. Sabrina sees a nurse and runs up to her. “Excuse me. Have you seen Harvey Kinkle? He's got brown hair and-”

“Sabrina!” Harvey calls to her. He is sitting a few feet away from the two of you, being cleaned up by another nurse.

“Harvey!” Sabrina sighs as she runs up to him and hugs him. “Oh, my gosh. Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“I made it out in time. But there are five guys still in there, and Sabrina, Tommy's one of them.”

“Oh, no.”

“I need to go back in. I can't leave him in there.”

“Hey, hey, hold on. Hold on. Harvey, you look like you're in shock.”

“I gotta find my dad.”

“Sabrina! Y/N! Harvey!” Roz yells to the three of you. You see her with Susie in tow and box in hand.

“Guys!” Sabrina calls to them.

“Is he okay?”

“I don't know. He was in the mines when it happened.”

“Oh, my God,” Susie says.

“We should, um,” Roz pauses, unsure of what to do or say. “Let's find somewhere to set up so we can start helping.” Susie and Roz walk away. You look at Sabrina and see her staring at something. You follow her gaze to see Harvey going into the mine.

“Sabrina!” Roz calls to her. You follow Sabrina over to Roz and Susie. Within minutes the four of you have a small refreshment stand set up with food and drinks for people. Roz’s father begins a prayer circle and you watch them with interest.

“Dear God, we ask that you surround our loved ones with angels” The man prays.

“You can join them if you want,” Roz says to you.

“Why would I pay to the False God?” You scoff.

“You aren’t Christian?” 

“No, I’m of a different faith, much different from yours. One you wouldn’t understand.”

“Sometimes, I don’t even understand my own faith.” She says quietly. You turn to look at her.

“Really?” 

“Yeah, I was born into it. My dad is a priest.”

“My father was, too. Before he passed away. But a different kind of priest. Aunt Zelda is devoted to our faith, she’s raised Sabrina and I in it, wanted us to follow the same path as our father, but sometimes I just don’t understand it, our beliefs, the promises. I want to have faith, I truly do, but I can’t help but wonder if maybe I am not destined to travel the path my father and aunts traveled, maybe I am destined to follow another path like my sister.” You glance at Sabrina as Harvey walks up to her.

“Harvey,” Sabrina says. “how's it going in there?”

“Not good. The borehole they're drilling to reach the survivors is too small. All the guys are too big. No one can fit through it, not even me. I tried.”

“Harvey, I-I don't want you going back down there,” Sabrina says quietly.

“My brother is trapped under all that rock.”

“I know, but-” Sabrina stops as she notices his hand. “Oh my gosh, you're really bleeding.” You notice Susie looking at the mines before quietly walking away. Sabrina and Harvey walk off and you decide to follow Susie. She looks towards the edge of the mine and stares into the darkness.

“What do you plan on doing?” You ask the foolish mortal.

“No one can fit in that hole, but I bet I could. I’m the smallest one here.”

“That’s one of the stupidest ideas I’ve ever heard.”

“Do you have a better one?”

“Yes, leave this to the adults. Sabrina almost lost Harvey, she can’t lose you.”

“Is that all you care about is your sister?” Susie asks with irritation.

“You’re an idiot.” You say flatly. “But Sabrina would never forgive me if I knew what you were doing and didn’t help you and something bad happened.” You sigh, casting a silent protection on Susie as you speak. 

“Does that mean you won’t tell?”

“That means I’m coming with you.” You reply. “Stupid mortal.” You complain to yourself as you follow Susie into the mine. You’re surprised no one notices the two of you entering the mine. “Where are we going?” You whisper as Susie grabs a flashlight and hands you one.

“Hush!” Susie hisses. She grabs your hand and drags you into the mine. A few feet inside you come across a hole, just big enough for you and Susie to climb into.

“What are you two doing?” A man calls to the two of you. You jump in surprise as Susie climbs into the hole and quickly pulls you in. “Hey! Get out of there!” He yells to the two of you. “Someone get help! Two kids just climbed into the hole!” 

“Do you see anything?” You ask Susie as she begins to move some of the rock around.

“No, what about you?”

“I see us being in a lot of trouble.” You think to yourself. A shiver makes its way down your spine. You close your eyes and touch the rock. Something about it isn’t right. There is magic in the caves, but it isn’t the type of magic that is normally in the mines, not the kind you’ve felt the last time you were near the mines. 

“You okay?” Susie asks.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” You reply as you also begin to move rock around.

“I think I found something,” Susie says. “Help me move this big rock.” You do as she asks and the two of you push a large rock out of the way. Susie picks up a hat. You shine your light on it to reveal a miner’s helmet covered in blood. You hear the commotion outside the hole getting louder.

“We need to get out of here.” You say to Susie. The two of you begin to climb out of the hole when you’re both grabbed by two men. “I demand to be put down!” You yell as you’re lifted into the air. The man doesn’t say anything, he just sets you down but holds onto your arm. The second man does the same to Susie.

“You two could have gotten yourselves killed!” The second man yells at the two of you before leading you out of the mines. Susie is the first to exit.

“Susie!” Sabrina says to her in shock as she runs up to her. What's going on?” Sabrina notices you also being led out of the mines. “Y/N?” She cries.

“Are you two crazy?” Roz yells. “You could have been killed!”

“We were small enough for the hole. And it's what my Aunt Dorothea told me to do.” You give Susie a confused look, but you’re glad she didn’t say it was your idea.

“What does that mean?”

“I mean, it's what my Aunt Dorothea would've done.”

“We didn't find anyone.” You say, changing the subject. Roz sighs.

“We just found this.” Susie holds the helmet in her hands.

“Oh, my God,” Roz whispers.

“The hell's going on here?” A man says as he approaches. He becomes silent when he sees you and Susie. Susie slowly approaches him with the helmet in her hands.

“Excuse me. Excuse me.” Harvey races through the crowd. “That's, that's Tommy's hat. “Did we, did we find him?” Everyone is silent. He doesn’t allow himself to see the blood on the helmet. “Well, then, we gotta keep looking, we gotta-”

“And we will.” The man says. “But not right now. It's turning into a shit-show in there. The faster we dig, the more the tunnel collapses. We don't have the right equipment, but we're getting it tomorrow. We'll pick up again then.” The man says to Harvey. He then turns his attention toward the crowd. “Thank you all for coming here, but unless you are an employee of the mine or a rescue worker for the town of Greendale, I need you all to go home. Really, folks, thank you for the support. See you tomorrow.”

“Dad, what if tomorrow's too late?”

“Boy, don't start with me. We are doing our best.”

“Harvey,” Sabrina whispers as she hugs him. They hold onto each other for a while as you stand there awkwardly, looking at your soot-covered hands and coat.

“I’m going to the truck,” Harvey says quietly. 

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Sabrina says to him. He walks off. When he is out of sight, she turns her attention to you. “What was all that about?” She says to you, trying not to yell.

“Apparently that man and Harvey have a strained relationship.” You shrug.

“That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it!” Sabrina’s voice gets louder. “What possessed you to let Susie go into the mines? You could have gotten her hurt or killed!” She yells. 

“Yes, I willingly followed a mortal into a dangerous mine and risked my life just to piss you off.” You glare at her. Let’s not forget that I’m not immortal. If something happened in that mine, I would have died.”

“All you care about is your life and yourself! What about Susie? Her life is just as important as yours!” 

“Yeah, Sabrina. I’m so selfish I cast a protection on Susie before she went into the mines so she wouldn’t get hurt. I didn’t cast one on myself, but I cast one on her, but I’m so selfish.” You pull the apple and orange from your pockets. “I brought you food because I knew you wouldn’t want to leave, but I’m the selfish one.” You push the fruit into her arms. “Maybe it’s not me that’s the selfish, sister.” You walk off, your anger burning inside you like hellfire. You go into the woods, out of sight of everyone and teleport home into your room. You spin into a new outfit, cleaning the dirt off of you in the process, and head downstairs where Aunt Zelda is preparing a funeral. 

“Where’s Sabrina?” She asks you.

“Still at the mines with her stupid mortal.” You spit.

“Is Harvey alright?”

“He’s fine, but there are still mortals trapped in the mine.”

“Why are you upset?” Aunt Zelda asks, not bothering to look up from her work.

“Because Sabrina called me selfish!”

“What did you say now?” She sighs.

“Nothing! All I did was put a protection on one of her mortal friends and followed her into the mines and into a hole the rescuers dug because no one else could fit through.”

“You went into the mines?” Aunt Zelda asks, forgetting about her paperwork.

“Yeah, because if something happened to that stupid mortal, Sabrina would never forgive me.”

“And what about yourself?” She asks you. “Did you protect yourself?”

“I wore my coat and necklace.” You shrug. “I figured that was enough.”

“Not in the mines.” Aunt Zelda says loudly. “The mines are a special place. You are lucky you didn’t get hurt or killed!” She stands up. “What if you had been hurt? No one would have known or would have been able to help you!” 

“I’m sorry, Auntie. It won’t happen again.” You say quietly, knowing Aunt Zelda won’t listen to you complain about Sabrina. She sighs, sensing your disappointment.

“Y/N, I have a lot of work to do right now with the Kemper bodies. Why don’t you go upstairs and get some rest? I’ll call you when I have supper ready.” She says quietly, trying to make herself sound less stressed out.

“Would you like some help instead? I may not know as much about the mortuary stuff as Aunt Hilda, but I know some of it. I can at least be of some help.” You say. She smiles sadly at you. “No, I can handle this with Ambrose. You are still young. Enjoy your youth while you have it.” She says cryptically. 

“What does that mean?” You ask her.

“You have always been so quick to grow up. Take some time to let yourself be sixteen. Sixteen-year-olds don’t take on mortuary work.”

“But it’s a family business. And I’ve done funerals before.”

“I know, but today I want you to enjoy your youth. Leave the work to the adults. I’ll call for you when supper is ready.” She says with another smile.

“Okay.” You say with uncertainty before walking up to your room. You sit on your bed, unsure of what just happened. It seemed really out of character for Aunt Zelda. You wish Aunt Hilda was here so you could talk to her about it. You want to go into your study to look through the books but decide against it. Aunt Zelda probably wants you out of the way while she works. You instead grab a book of spells from under your bed and begin to flip through the pages mindlessly. You stop on a random page, slowly translating the words from Latin to English.

“To conjure the memory, the conjurer must have been present and awake in the memory. Only more advanced conjurers can bring forth a memory they were not present or awake in.” You read. The words grab your attention. You look at the title of the book. Memorian Pro Tironibus. Memory for Beginners. You can’t help but smile at the book. The spell you had been wanting to learn was in a book under your bed all along. You continue to read. “For best results, the memory should be replayed in the same room it occurred in. If not possible, a large, open place will work, but more concentration is needed.” You decide to sneak downstairs into the parlor. With the book in hand, you quietly make your way downstairs and into the parlor. You stand in the doorway of the room and close your eyes, focusing your energy on the memory and projecting it into the room.

“Aunt Zella! Aunt Zella! Aunt Zella!” A small child calls. You open your eyes to see the parlor, just as it was when you were smaller, not that it had changed much over the years. A small, blonde child runs across the room to Aunt Zelda. A large book is clutched in one of the child’s hands and the other is holding a pair of Aunt Hilda’s glasses to her face.

“Did you decide on a book, Y/N?” Aunt Zelda asks the small child. You smile at how perfectly the memory appears. 

“Yeah! Dis one!” The child says with determination. You barely remember this happening, you were may two years old. But you remember how safe and happy you felt. You sit in a chair across from the two. Aunt Zelda takes the book and sets it beside her and then picks up the child and cradles her in her arms.

“Are you sure this is the one you want?” She asks, holding the book with her free hand.

“Yeah!” The child grins. 

“Alright, alright.” She opens the leather book and picks a random page and begins to read it. “Today is a joyous day for the Dark Lord has allowed me to marry Diana. It was a wonderful celebration. I cannot wait to spend my life with Diana, the love of my life. Someday, I expect us to have children of our own. I hope for a son to carry on my work and take my place when my time on Earth is done. I also hope for a daughter to give Zelda and Hilda a run for their money. Satan knows how they would handle a little girl running amuck around the house! I hope she is as beautiful as her mother and a talented witch like her father and aunts.” You watch Aunt Zelda’s face as she reads. You pause the memory and walk over to her and look at the book, you see the drawings in it, just silly little doodles. You remember the doodles, but not the book itself. You see that it’s a handwritten book, a journal. One written and kept by your father. You read the rest of the page and sit back down before letting the memory play out.   
“Aunt Zella, I know who wrote dat!” The child stops Aunt Zelda. Aunt Zelda looks at the child and smiles.

“Who?” She asks.

“Daddy wrote dat!”

“Did he? Who told you that?”

“I don’ know.”

“Then how do you know he wrote it?”

“I jus know.” She smiles. “He wrote dat.” She points to something in the book. “Will you read some more?”

“Of course.” Aunt Zelda smiles. As she reads, you don’t pay attention to what she reads. Instead, you look at her face as she reads her deceased brother’s words to his child. You see tears form in her eyes, and you watch as she desperately tries to keep them from falling. Despite this, you never remembered seeing her cry or seeing the pain on her face. You always remembered her smiling or having a neutral face. 

“Aunt Zella?” The child stops Aunt Zelda after a few minutes. “Why you cry?” You turn your attention to Aunt Zelda. You see her wiping away tears that had begun to slide down her cheeks. The child climbs out of Aunt Zelda’s grasp and stands on her lap, struggling to keep her balance.

“I miss your father.” She says simply. 

“When he come home?” The child asks innocently. You don’t remember a time when you didn’t know your mother and father wouldn’t come home.

“He,” she takes a deep breath, “he won’t be coming home. He died.”

“Why he die?”

“Because the Dark Lord decided to call him home.”

“He call me home?” Aunt Zelda looks shocked at the child’s words. The idea of the child standing on her lap being one of the many bodies she has buried over the years was too much for her. 

“No, not for a very, very, very long time.” She says as she grabs the child and holds onto her tightly. She looks up towards the ceiling, trying to hold back her tears as she hugs the child, making sure to keep her face out of the child’s vision. The memory begins to fade as you lose your concentration. You watch as Aunt Zelda’s crying face fades, taking the book and the young you with it. You remember feeling happy and safe in Aunt Zelda’s arms that day, hearing a story you had long forgotten, but you didn’t remember Aunt Zelda crying. You try to restart the memory, bring it back into view, but you don’t have the energy to. You feel weak and tired from the intensity and length of the spell. You lie down on the couch and fall asleep thinking of the memory you barely remembered.

“Y/N, come on, it’s time to wake up,” Ambrose says as he shakes you. You open your eyes to see that it is now dark outside. You still feel sluggish and weak from your spell as you look at up.

“Ambrose?” You mumble to him.

“Auntie Z wants us.”

“Is Aunt Hilda home yet?” You as him as you sit up.

“No, not yet. Come on now, we have something we need to do.” He leads you into the embalming room where Aunt Zelda is already waiting.

“Have a nice nap?” Aunt Zelda says with a small smirk and raised eyebrow as she takes a drag of her cigarette.

“Yes, Auntie.” You say bashfully.

“We’re going to astral project Ambrose into the mines to see what’s going on. This, Y/N, is how you should have gone into the mines.” 

“You went into the mines?” Ambrose asks.

“Don’t ask.” You sigh. You estimate that it is around the witching hour with Aunt Zelda wanting to cast an astral projection. Ambrose sets out the candles as Aunt Zelda prepares the ground. You carefully light the candles.

“Are you sure you want Ambrose to go?” You ask.

“Relax, cousin. I know what I’m doing.” He smiles.

“She’s only sending you because you’re replaceable.” You joke.

“Said the identical twin.” He retorts. “Unlike you, cousin, I am a one and only. You are a copy of Sabrina.”

“That’s enough you two.” Aunt Zelda says as she stands by the candles. “Y/N let us begin. Remember, Ambrose, you only have ten minutes.” You nod in reply and stand across from her. You join hands with her and focus your energy. Ambrose lies in the circle of candles and closes his eyes. Halfway through sending Ambrose’s spirit, you feel your energy run itself out again. You struggle to keep the spell going. “Focus, Y/N.” Aunt Zelda says to you. You feel the corners of your vision start to go dark. “Y/N, look at me.” You look up at her, trying to blink away the darkness that is slowly starting to consume your vision. You feel your knees start to weaken as you struggle to hold yourself up. Once the spell is cast Aunt Zelda quickly lets go of your hands and grabs you, keeping you upright before letting you fall into her. “Y/N?” She says, not hiding her alarm. “Are you alright?” 

“Yes, Auntie. I guess I just overdid it today with spells.” You say quietly, breathing in the scent of cigarettes, alcohol, and perfume. 

“That hasn’t happened in a long time.”

“Spells use energy, the more powerful the spell, the more energy it uses. I’m becoming stronger and I have access to more and more spells. It’s only natural for me to want to try them out.” You smile weakly. Aunt Zelda leads you to a chair and you sit down. You feel like you could easily sleep for a few days. You doze the next few minutes until Aunt Zelda speaks again.

“It’s time to bring Ambrose back.”

“Do we have to?” You ask playfully. Aunt Zelda doesn’t dignify your question with a response. You slowly stand up and help her break the circle of candles. Ambrose slowly wakes up.

“Did you find anything?” Aunt Zelda asks him.

“I did.” He says somberly as he sits up. “I found the mortals. But none of them are alive.” You see sadness wash over Aunt Zelda’s face. 

“But that isn’t a big deal to us, is it? I mean they’re mortals we didn’t even know.” You say.

“Just because they’re mortal doesn’t mean their life is worth any less than ours,” Ambrose says. “They are just like us, but without magic. They still love and cry and laugh and live just as we do.” You are silent as you take in his words. 

“Y/N, why don’t you go upstairs and get some rest, Ambrose and I need to discuss the mines.” Aunt Zelda says to you.

“Yes, Aunt Zelda.” You say obediently, not wanting to turn down a chance to go to bed. You slowly make your way upstairs and into your room. You don’t bother changing into pajamas, you’ve used too much magic for the day already. Instead, you simply take off your shoes and climb into your bed, falling asleep within minutes.

You wake up early the next morning to the sound of a car door closing. Aunt Hilda is home. You quickly jump out of bed and rush downstairs to greet your aunt. You still feel weak, but nowhere near as exhausted as you did. 

“Where are you off to?” Aunt Zelda asks from her room as you rush by. “You should be resting!”

“Aunt Hilda is home!” You say with a smile. She quickly follows behind you. You stand by the door, waiting for Aunt Hilda to walk in. Instead, Aunt Zelda opens the door and speaks to her.

“Come inside, the both of you.” Aunt Zelda says. You glance out the door to see Sabrina is also home. You refuse to look Sabrina in the eyes, you’re still mad at her. 

“I’m glad you’re finally home!” You say to Aunt Hilda as you hug her. 

“Thank-you, lamb.” Aunt Hilda grins as she holds onto you. The four of you walk into the kitchen where Ambrose is already waiting. 

“We have news. Brace yourselves, it's not pleasant.” Aunt Zelda says once everyone takes their seats at the table.

“I was astral-projecting, with Auntie Z and Y/N keeping watch and I went to the mines. There were no survivors in there.” Ambrose says somberly.

“Dear Lucifer, are you sure?” Aunt Hilda asks as she clears her throat. 

“I'm fairly certain, yes.”

“Well, in that case, we should tell them. Harvey is losing his mind with worry. And people might get hurt if the search continues.” Sabrina says.

“Let them.” You say bitterly. “They’re just mortals anyway. They’re not worth the air they breathe.”

“Unfortunately, we can't do that, Sabrina.” Aunt Zelda says over you. “This is the perilousness of being a witch who consorts with mortals. Having knowledge they don't, not being able to act on it or share it.”

“It just, it doesn't make any sense.”

“Things happen. Awful things. Accidents. But the natural order is to be maintained. That's one of our basic tenets. Things must play out as they would without our interference. Otherwise-”

“Bad things happen, I know.” Sabrina interrupts. 

“It is a terrible tragedy for all of them in there.”

“Did you know him well, Sabrina?” Ambrose asks.

“Tommy?”

“Hmm.”

“I met him a few times, but he meant everything to Harvey. He, uh, he's gonna be devastated.” Silence falls upon the room. You aren’t sure how to act or what to say. You want the house to be it’s normal, happy and irritated self with Aunt Hilda doing something happily and singing while Aunt Zelda quietly glares at her from behind a newspaper and Ambrose does something in the basement and Sabrina is off doing mortal things.

“I’ll, um, I’ll start getting paperwork in order. Once they find the bodies, they’ll likely bring them here.” Aunt Hilda says after a few moments. 

“And I’ll finish up the Kemper bodies.” Aunt Zelda says as the two of them walk off. 

“I’m going get some cleaning done downstairs,” Ambrose says to you and Sabrina before he walks away, leaving the two of you alone. You sit in silence, not wanting to speak to Sabrina. You want her to make the first move, but at the same time, you don’t want her to make a move. You just want to be angry at her. The phone rings a few minutes later and Sabrina gets up to answer it.

“Harvey is coming over.” She says to you as she returns to the kitchen.

“And I’m supposed to care?” You spit. 

“Come on, Y/N. You could help support Harvey. He’s going through a lot right now.” You roll your eyes in response. A few moments later you hear a car pull into the driveway. Sabrina walks out of the kitchen to meet Harvey. You hear the front door slam and decide to see what is going on.

“He called off the search,” Harvey says.

“Who did?” Sabrina asks.

“My asshole father. He said he couldn't risk the loss of any more lives, but I know that's bullshit! He was already talking to the bank and the insurance company because he cares more about the payout than he does about finding Tommy!” He yells as he paces with anger. You’ve never seen him so angry before. You find it fascinating. If he were a warlock, he could almost match Aunt Zelda in fits. Almost.

“No, Harvey, he's just worried. Like you.” Sabrina tries to reason.

“No, Sabrina, he's coming here to plan Tommy's funeral for tomorrow. He's rushing it because he can't collect the insurance check until there's been a funeral. And we, we haven't even found his body yet. What kind of man does that, when his own son could still be alive and suffering?”

“The kind that values life.” You say to the mortal. He gives you a dumbfounded look. “You are all the same. And you aren’t any better.” You say to Sabrina. “Trying to add value to a specific life. That isn’t how it works. All lives are equal. You may not like it, and I certainly don’t like it, but it’s true. Tommy’s life holds no more value than the life of a volunteer just because he is your brother.” You turn your attention to Sabrina. “Just like Susie’s life doesn’t hold any more value than mine just because she is your stupid little friend.” You say before speaking to Harvey again. “You can be angry about it and you can be bitter about it, but it will not change the fact that you have to put the lives of the many above the lives of the few. Maybe your father is planning a funeral quickly, but the sooner he does that, the sooner finding those bodies becomes less of a priority and the sooner it isn’t as high of a priority, the sooner the bodies can be retrieved safely and with as little risk to the living as possible.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asks angrily. 

“Your father isn’t an asshole. He’s smart. Why risk the lives of volunteers when there’s a pretty good chance that the people down there are already gone? What sense would it make to put lives at risk for a bunch of probable corpses?”

“Are you saying I’m stupid?” He yells.

“I’m saying you need to pull your head out of your ass. Stop letting your heart control you and start using your damn head!” You yell back, getting into his face.

“Y/N.” Aunt Zelda says sternly as she appears in the room. “Come help me with some of this paperwork I have. It will be a learning experience for you.” You sigh knowing she’s saying something just to get you out of the room. You follow her upstairs and into her room.

“What do you need help with in here?” You ask.

“Nothing. I’m sending you to the academy for your classes.”

“What about Sabrina? Why doesn’t she have to go?” You complain.

“Sabrina isn’t the one irritating mortals. The two of you have already missed one day, I won’t let you miss a second.” You glare at the ground. “I’ve already sent your things to your dorm.” She adds before leaving you alone in the room. You roll your eyes and teleport yourself to the academy, appearing in the main corridor.

“You guys haven't seen the Spellman twins, have you? They haven't been to seminar in the last two days.” You hear Nickolas say.

“Oh, didn't you hear? There was a terrible accident at the mines.” One of the Weird Sisters say.

“A bunch of mortals died.” Another says.

“What? You mean, like, Sabrina’s boyfriend?” Nicholas asks.

“His brother. It's tragic, really.”

“Or it would be,”

“If the Kinkles weren't a family of dirty witch hunters.”

“Funeral's tomorrow.”

“Heard they're burying an empty casket.” You approach the group.

“What did you bitches do?” You growl at the two girls.

“We didn’t do anything.”  
“And if we did, you can’t prove it.”

“I swear to Satan if this comes back to the two of you, I will personally make sure your deaths are slow and painful. I have warned you and I have warned Prudence.” You push them against the wall. “Do not play with me.” You growl. 

“Y/N Spellman.” Father Blackwood says sternly from behind you. “My office. Now.” You let go of the two witches and follow Father Blackwood to his office. He holds the door open for you and you quietly walk in and take a seat. He sits at his desk and looks at you for a moment. “Care to explain what that was about? You literally just arrived at the academy and you’re already causing trouble.” 

“Dorcas and Agatha did something.” You say. He continues to stare at you. “The mines in Greendale recently collapsed. Five mortals died.” He raises an eyebrow waiting for the reason as to why he should care. “I think Dorcas and Agatha had something to do with it. I don’t know how, but it lines up too correctly to be coincidental.”

“How so?” He asks, humoring you.

“Before the Feast of Feasts, Ms. Wardwell took Prudence, Dorcas, Agatha, Sabrina, and I into the Greendale Woods to meet Dezmelda. We found Sabrina’s boyfriend’s family hunting. They shot a familiar disguised as a deer and Prudence said that he and his family were witch hunters. Dorcas and Agatha made several threats about dealing with the mortal and his family. Doesn’t it seem a little too coincidental that the mine that mortal was in collapsed and it killed his brother?”

“Do the mortals suspect anything?” 

“I don’t think so, not yet at least.”

“And do you have proof that Dorcas and Agatha did this?”

“No, but-”

“Miss Spellman,” He sighs. “I’ve already talked to Sister Zelda. I assume with your aunts owning a mortuary and with Sabrina dating one of the mortals, this incident has caused you some stress and that is why you are acting out. Sister Zelda and I have agreed that you should finish out the day and tomorrow here before going home. Detox yourself from the stressful environment and the mortals.” You feel defeated and confused at his words.

“Aunt Zelda sent me away?” You ask.

“She felt it was best for you to be away from the mortal mess for a while. She said it was causing you obvious unnecessary stress.” 

“Does my aunt understand that this is a school for learning and not a daycare for troublesome witches?” You ask smartly. 

“She just wants what is best for you, always has.” He says. You nod irritatedly and stand up before walking towards the door. You pause before opening it. 

“Father Blackwood?” You ask him.

“Yes?”

“May I ask you something, not as a student to a teacher, but as an unbaptized child to a High Priest?” He sits back in his chair.

“Of course.” 

“I saw mortals form a circle and join hands when the mine collapsed. They prayed to the False God and I talked to one of the children. She’s the daughter of a priest, and she said sometimes she didn’t understand everything about her faith.” You pause, taking a deep breath. “Father, I try to be a good follower. I listen to Aunt Zelda and help Aunt Hilda and read my scriptures and pray to the Dark Lord and attend classes here and I attend mortal school like I was sentenced to. I try to be like my father, or how I think he’d be, but I can’t help but wonder, is this the path for me? Am I destined to be a child of night or am I destined to follow a different path?” Father Blackwood chuckles to himself as he stands up and walks towards you.

“My child, you are still very young.” He places his hands on your shoulders. “And you were born into this faith. It is all you have ever known. It is okay to question things. However, I suggest that you do not give in to the temptation your sister and father have given into. There are two paths, the path of night and the path of light. You must walk one, you cannot walk both. Soon Sabrina will learn this.” 

“Did you question things when you were young?” You ask him.

“Not to such an extent.” He says slowly. “But I did have my questions.” 

“Did you ever find your answers?”

“Something you will learn as you get older is that some questions don’t have answers.” He says wisely. 

“Thank you, Father Blackwood.” You say with a nod before leaving his office. With seminar already finished, you only have potions left to attend.

“Hello, Y/N.” Madam Maura says in her gruff tone as you enter the classroom. You’re several minutes early so it is just the two of you in the room.”

“Hi, Madam Maura.” You say nervously as you sit in your seat.

“Where is Sabrina? Is she not feeling well?”

“No, um, there was an accident in the mines and um, her boyfriend’s brother died so she’s, um, helping him.” You say nervously.

“How do you feel being by yourself today?” She asks you as she shuffles through the papers on her desk.

“I know how to be by myself. I mean Sabrina has been going to mortal school for years and I just recently starting going. When she went to school with her stupid mortals, I was at home with our aunts.”

“I actually meant working by yourself today on a different assignment from the rest of the class.” She says, her gruff voice softening a bit. She puts her papers down and walks to your desk. “But you seem to have an issue with the mortals.”

“It’s nothing.” You say, avoiding her gaze. She leans against your desk and stares at you.

“Y/N, I am your teacher, a confidant. You can tell me anything and it will stay just between us.” She looks into your eyes. You stare at her ice-blue eyes, trying to find something. You aren’t sure what you want to find, but you like staring into her eyes.

“The mines in our town collapsed and one of Sabrina’s mortal friends and I went in to see if we could find anyone. I put a protection on the mortal so if anything happened, she’d be fine. But when we came out of the mines Sabrina freaked out about it. She didn’t care if I put myself in danger, only her mortal. Why are the mortals so important? And why are her friends more important than her twin sister?” You blurt out. Even though Madam Maura can’t really help you, you feel better just saying it out loud. 

“You take after your aunt and Sabrina takes after your father.”

“You’d be surprised how often I hear that.” You roll your eyes.

“Zelda had the same problem when she was younger. I remember hearing her complain to her favorite companion about it not long before you and Sabrina were born. She hated that her brother had a love for mortals and she put on a good show, acting like she hated mortals and everything. But it wasn’t the mortals she hated. It was knowing that she would see Father Spellman get hurt.”

“Get hurt? By my mother?”

“By any and every mortal he loved.” She says sadly. “Witches and mortals aren’t meant to mix. We live for centuries while mortals rarely make it to a hundred. Every mortal he fell in love with would die before him. He would be forced to watch them age, become weaker, go grow older, and eventually pass away.”

“That will happen to anyone, witch or mortal.”

“Yes, but witches have to live with the pain of a mortal’s death longer than they would a witch’s. Sabrina’s friends will die in about seventy years or so. But she won’t. She will live for centuries longer and she will have to carry around those memories for the rest of her life. If she keeps building relationships with mortals, she will have to continue to harbor that pain.”

“What did Aunt Zelda do about my father?”

“She fought him, of course.” Madam Maura laughs heartily. “But she couldn’t control her brother. He was older, after all, and his own person. All she could do was pick up the pieces when it was time. Unfortunately, when the time came, your father died with his mortal so Zelda was left to pick up her own pieces. But your father did show us something important.”

“What?” You ask curiously.

“Mortals aren’t pets. They are like us, but weaker and not quite as smart.”

“Have you met my cousin, Ambrose?” You say with a slight smile. She laughs.

“I have heard of him. But I haven’t met him.” She sighs. “But my advice to you, Y/N, is don’t let your sister’s love for mortals get to you. It will be annoying and inconvenient, but you are still her sister. Her twin. No one else is as close to her as you are. And that is something no mortal can take away.”

“Thank you, Madam Maura.” You say, looking at your hands. “I-I feel bad for snapping at her now. I mean before I left, I called her mortal an ass and I said she loved her mortal friends more than she loved me. But sometimes it feels like it. It feels like family takes second place to her boyfriend and her friends. And I love my Aunt Zelda and my Aunt Hilda immensely, I really do, but they don’t always understand the things I’m going through. Not like Sabrina.” 

“I understand. I have a sister myself. She’s been a pain in my ass since she was born, but I wouldn’t trade her for anything.”

“Does she work here?”

“Not exactly.” Madam Maura says slowly. “But she did attend the academy.” Before you can ask more questions, students begin to enter the room. “Do not hesitate to seek me out if you wish to speak to someone.” She says quickly before going back to her gruff persona. “About time you lot showed up!” She complains to the students. “I expect you all to be here at least fifteen minutes early. Not five!”

“Yes, Madam Maura.” The students say as they file in and take their seats. Madam Maura sits at her desk until it is time for class to begin. She then starts to instruct the class on proper potion technique. You don’t listen to her though, you’ve already learned this from Aunt Zelda. You roll your eyes thinking about her. You hate that she sent you here to be babysat.

“This is where I belong when I become too troublesome apparently.” You think bitterly as class continues on. By the time class ends, you’re once again stewing in a bad mood. You walk to your final class of the day only to find a note posted on the door telling you that class is canceled. You feel irritated and relieved by this. You decide to spend the rest of your day in the library, hoping to find something to get your mind off things. You walk into the library and take in the silence and the wonderful smell of the old books. You grab a spellbook from one of the older sections and sit at a table and begin studying it. You feel peace start to wash over you until you hear a voice behind you.

“How is Sabrina?” Prudence asks.

“She’s fine.” You reply curtly.

“And her pet mortal?” She asks as she sits across from you.

“I don’t care enough to ask.” You say without looking up from your book. Prudence stares at you for a moment, but she doesn’t say anything. “How long are you going to stare at me?” You finally ask as you set your book down.

“Don’t flatter yourself, mutt. I have better things to do than stare at you.” She retorts.

“Then why are you still here?” She doesn’t dignify your question with an answer. Instead, she stands up and leaves. You silently chastise yourself as you realize just how much you sound and act like Aunt Zelda. “I am nothing like Zelda Spellman. I would never send my problem niece away just because she is becoming irritating.” You mumble to yourself.

“She would send her away if she were crazy though.” Nicholas smiles at you.

“I’m not crazy either.” You glare at him. 

“Are you sure? Because you’re talking to yourself.” He chuckles. “What’s wrong, Y/N?” He asks.

“Nothing.” You say.

“Is Sabrina okay?”

“She’s fine. It’s her mortal that is dealing with a lot.” You say flatly.

“He did just lose his brother.” He says sympathetically.

“It’s part of life. We may not always like what happens, but what happens is beyond our control.”

“Yeah,” he says simply, unsure of what else to say. He watches you for a moment, awkwardly trying to decide what his next move will be. “Lean any new spells lately?” He decides to ask.

“I have. I’ve learned to conjure a memory and project it onto a room.” You say, finally taking interest in something he says.

“That’s really cool. Have you learned how to conjure a memory you aren’t present in?”

“No, I can just do memories I was awake and present in.”

“It’s more fun when you can do ones you aren’t in.” He smirks. “I can show you if you want.” He suggests.

“Alright. I think I’ll take you up on your offer.” You smile. 

“Let’s get started then. I must warn you, it is rigorous.”

“I’m sure I can handle it.” You say as you put the book away and follow Nicholas to the auditorium. It is rarely used this time of year so it is the perfect place to project a memory.

“Alright,” Nicholas says as he turns on the lights to the stage, “to start, you have to decide what memory you want to project.”

“I want to project the day my aunts decided to keep Sabrina and me.” You say after a moment of thought.

“Wow, that’s deep. Are you sure you want to see that?”

“I’ve always been curious.” You say with a shrug. 

“Alright.” He sighs. “With a memory you weren’t present or awake in, it takes a lot more energy to conjure because it isn’t part of your own memory. But you project it, you’re just going to focus on the idea and envision it into the room.” He says. You concentrate as he instructs. You can feel your energy depleting as you close your eyes and think of that day. 

“Wow,” Nicholas mumbles. You open your eyes to see Father Blackwood’s office. Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda are sitting in front of his desk, watching him as he looks through paperwork.

“With bother their parents gone, I suppose we should decide what to do with the twins.” Father Blackwood says. You notice that Aunt Hilda is holding one bundle and Aunt Zelda another.

“Who do you think is holding who?” Nicholas asks.

“Aunt Zelda is holding me and Aunt Hilda is holding Sabrina.” You say. “That’s the way it’s always been.”

“We will care for them.” Aunt Zelda says simply.

“Both of them?”

“Of course.” We are their night mothers and aunts. Seeing that they are witches, it would be only natural for them to stay with witches and there are no better witches than Hilda and I.”

“Perhaps it would be best if we separate them, gave one to another family to raise. Maybe the mother’s mortal-”

“I will raise both twins.” Aunt Zelda says coldly as her grip tightens on the bundle of blankets in her arms. “No one will separate them. No one will take them away. They are both staying in the Spellman house and being raised by Spellmans.”

“But, Sister Zelda,” Father Blackwood says as he stands up and walks over to her, “they are also mortal. Don’t they deserve to experience a mortal life?” He gently touches the baby’s head. “They live in both worlds, and as half-mortal, they’ll never be strong-”

“They are strong.” Aunt Hilda interrupts. The attention in the room moves to her. “Forgive the interruption, but I delivered Sabrina and I can assure you, she’s strong. And Y/N is strong too. She may not be as strong as Sabrina, but she survived when everyone said she wouldn’t. Despite the odds, that baby is right there in Zelda’s arms.” You feel your energy reaching its limits.

“I told you.” You say to Nicholas with a slight smile as the memory suddenly dissipates and you feel yourself falling. Before you can react, the world around you goes dark.

You wake up in your bed at home, unsure of how you got there.

“About time you woke up.” A stern voice says beside you. You turn your head to see Aunt Zelda sitting in a chair beside your bed.

“What happened?” You ask.

“You know what happened.” She snaps. “You, of all people, should know better! Are you trying to get yourself killed? That kind of spellcasting isn’t designed for witches like you!” 

“Witches like me?” You ask. “What do you mean witches like me?”

“You aren’t ready.”

“I’m not ready or do you think I’m not strong enough?” You ask her. 

“Alright, alright, that’s enough.” Aunt Hilda says as she rushes into the room with a jar in her hand. “Here, you drink this.” She hands you the jar. “And you get ready for the funeral.” She says to Aunt Zelda, who giver her a venomous glare.

“Do I want to know what this is?” You ask as Aunt Zelda leaves the room.

“It’ll help you get your strength back.”

“How long have I been out?” You ask as you stare at the green liquid.

“A few days. Now, today is Thomas Kinkle’s funeral. You don’t have to go if you’re not feeling up for it. But I think Sabrina would like the support.”

“Sabrina doesn’t care what I do.” You roll your eyes.

“I do, too.” She says quietly as she walks into the room wearing a black underdress and a black dress thrown over her arm. You don’t respond to her.

“Let’s finish this up.” Aunt Hilda says with a smile as she takes the dress from Sabrina. “And you better drink that up. It’ll have you feeling better in an hour or so.”

“What did you even do?” Sabrina asks.

“Y/N likes to do spells that she’s not yet ready for. Spells take energy. Using too much energy can cause a witch to pass out.”

“How will I get better if I don’t try?” You roll your eyes as Sabrina looks out the bedroom window.

“By working slowly and not jumping to stronger spells. We know you’re a gifted witch, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have limits, young lady.” Aunt Hilda scolds you. The room falls silent as you quickly drink whatever is in the jar. It tastes like spoiled milk and cinnamon candy. You clench your fists as you pray the taste will vanish from your mouth.

“Auntie?” Sabrina asks as Aunt Hilda works on her dress.

“Yes, darling?”

“What happens when you die?”

“Hmm?”

“Where do you go?”

“Well, uh, I can only speak to witches. And I suppose you're curious to know what happens to mortals like young Thomas Kinkle. I don't know.”

“Does dying hurt? All those times with Aunt Zelda, I mean.”

“Well, it depends on her murder weapon of choice, really.” She chuckles.

“And how is it that Aunt Zelda brings you back? Does she cast a spell, or are you cursed?” You give Sabrina a confused look. Aunt Zelda has warned the two of you about the Cain Pit before. She had told you several times not to bury things in it and told you to stay away from it. Although she didn’t have to tell you to stay away from it, you remember playing near the Cain Pit and seeing Aunt Hilda claw her way out of the dirt when you were small and being terrified that Aunt Hilda was a zombie that would eat everyone’s brains. You warned Sabrina and Aunt Zelda about it for months afterward. Ambrose was offended that you didn’t warn him about zombie Aunt Hilda, especially after Aunt Zelda made the comment about him lacking a brain.

“No. No, nothing of the sort. It's, um, it's all about the soil, actually. Uh, more specifically, a plot of soil in our graveyard out front. It's been in the Spellman family for generations. Purportedly, it is soil that was harvested from Cain's garden and soaked with Abel's blood. The most fertile soil on Earth. And contains all the mysteries of life and death. Done it.” She says as she holds up the dress. “Why don't you put it on?”

“Okay.”

“This little foot. This little foot. Here we go.” She chuckles. “I know why you're asking.” Her tone becomes serious. “But bringing back from the dead is by and large a no-no. Easier done with witches, and never, ever to be tried with mortals. It is not our place, as Aunt Zelda says.”

“Because it’s not our place.” You say as you climb out of bed. “We shouldn’t even be bothering ourselves with these mortals. We’re witches, we should stay with our own kind.”

“Y/N, what has gotten you so against mortals recently? I thought you were starting to like them.”

“My sister would prefer her mortals are safe over me. That’s what has me so against them.” You complain.

“You have so many protections cast on you, you could walk through fire and be fine.” Sabrina glares at you. 

“That’s actually true.” Aunt Hilda snorts.

“You were reckless with Susie. You let her go into the mines and you even went in with her!”

“Wait, Y/N, you went into the mines?”

“I wasn’t reckless. I put a protection on Susie. She would have been fine. And it’s no different than you trying to expose us with exercosims and trying to live a life in the mortal world and a life in the witch world. If those mortals find out, they won’t hesitate to kill us.”

“That’s not true.”

“Mark my words Sabrina Spellman, one day this will all come back to bite you. You won’t be able to live both lives forever. You will have to choose.” 

“Alright you two, that’s enough!” Aunt Hilda says loudly. “Y/N, why don’t you take a bath and calm down? I think you should attend the funeral, you know how Zelda gets at children’s funerals.

“Yes, Auntie.” You reply, glaring at Sabrina. You walk into the bathroom and start the water. You can still hear Aunt Hilda and Sabrina talk.

“Don't worry, Aunt Hilda. I haven't got any ideas. Even if I did, it's not like we have Tommy's body to bury. Just his hat.” You hear Sabrina say.

“I'm sorry.” Aunt Hilda says. You hear her leave the room as you climb into the bathtub. You feel the cold water on your body. You think about the memory you saw and how protective Aunt Zelda was of you and Sabrina. You feel guilt coming back. You have a feeling that Aunt Zelda rarely left your side once you were brought from the academy to the house.

“No one will take them away. They are both staying in the Spellman house and being raised by Spellmans.” Aunt Zelda’s words echo in your mind. You relax in the bathtub for a few more minutes before getting out and spinning into your funeral clothes, drying your hair in the process. You feel weak, but nowhere near as week as you felt before you went to the academy. You walk into your bedroom to see Sabrina sitting on her bed, the photo of your parents in her hands.

“I don’t care about my friends more than I care about you.” She says without looking at you.

“Sure seems like it sometimes.” You mumble. “We aren’t meant to walk the same path, are we?” You ask her.

“Maybe, but maybe we’re walking different paths to the same destination.” She says.

“That could be.” You say slowly. A moment of awkward silence passes between the two of you. You sigh. “You know why I’m not a fan of mortals?” Sabrina looks at you. “Because I’m half-mortal. And my whole life I’ve been called a mutt and a half-breed and looked down upon because I’m half-mortal. I’ve been taught to hate that half of me. I’ve been taught to hate myself. You have your mortal life where it is okay to be mortal, but I never had that. I had our coven, where that wasn’t allowed. I don’t love myself, how can I love something that I was taught to hate about myself?” You say to her. She doesn’t answer you. She stands up and wraps you in a tight hug. The two of you stand in silence until you hear people arriving for the funeral. The two of you don’t speak to each other, instead, you head downstairs and take your places for the funeral. You stand by Aunt Zelda and Ambrose and help them hand out funeral programs.

“Dr. Cee.” Aunt Hilda greets someone.

“Thank you for coming.” Aunt Zelda says to someone as they walk by the three of you.

“Hilda,” the man greets Aunt Hilda, “I'm here to pay my respects. Tommy used to bring Harvey into the shop to buy comic books, and now”

“I know that he'll appreciate that you came. It's really sweet.” You see Ms. Wardwell approach Sabrina, but you don’t bother to say anything to her. You have enough to deal with without her adding to it.

“How are you feeling?” Aunt Zelda asks you.

“I feel fine, a little tired, but fine.” You reply.

“What were you even trying to do?”

“I was trying to conjure a memory that I don’t remember.”

“And who was helping you do that?”

“I refuse to reveal my assistant.” You smile.

“You’re lucky it just took you out for a few days. Some witches never wake up.”

“Oh, Auntie Zee, do any mortals ever realize life while they're living it? Every fleeting, precious moment?” Ambrose asks her, changing the subject. 

“No. The poets and artists, maybe they do.” She says as she looks into the parlor where Sabrina is hugging Harvey. “Not that we're much better, mind you.” Aunt Zelda begins to dab at her eyes.

“Auntie Zee, are you crying?” Ambrose asks her.

“Pollen.” She lies with a sniff. “Let's get this over with.” She begins to walk into the parlor but you grab her arm. She looks at you. “What is it, Y/N?” You stare into her green eyes for a moment, trying to think of the right words. Instead, you hug her. She holds onto you tightly for a moment. “Thank you.” She whispers to you before letting go. She walks into the parlor with you behind her. She nods to Ambrose, who takes his place at the organ. He and Roz share eye contact and he begins to play for her as she sings. You stand in the back with Aunt Zelda, holding onto her hand, while Sabrina sits with Harvey.

“Harvey, it's your turn, love.” Aunt Hilda says to the boy once Roz finishes singing. Ambrose stands beside you.

“Uh, we, um, we, um,” Harvey stammers as he looks into the crowd. “We're gathered here today to say goodbye to my brother Thomas Kinkle, uh, Tommy. My best friend. He is, was… God I don't know what to say. It's just crazy to give a eulogy when you're not even sure if, um, he called me nerd.” He chuckles. “He bought my school supplies every year. We talked about everything. We talked about girls. Well, one girl. He protected me from everything that's bad. Once, I asked him what his dream was, and he said, he said that his dream was that my dreams come true which is who he was. And I-I miss him.” He takes a deep breath. “Thank you.” Harvey quickly sits down and his father stands up and walks to the front of the room.

“You did a spell, didn’t you?” You think to Sabrina.

“I did.” She thinks backs.

“My son, Thomas Kinkle, was a good, honorable man. We can all take comfort knowing that he's reunited with his mother in Heaven. Tommy valued family and duty above all else. He did what was asked of him and never complained. He understood the danger, but he also knew the mines are the lifeblood of Greendale. And Tommy, he loved our mines.”

“No, he didn't.” Harvey blurts out.

“Boy,” Mr. Kinkle growls.

“Tommy hated the mines, Dad.”

“The spell is backfiring.” You think to Sabrina.

“I know.” She thinks back.

“He only worked there because you forced him to. For some stupid family legacy.”

“You had your turn, Harvey. You sit down now.” Sabrina tries to pull Harvey back to his seat but he pushes her back. You let go of Aunt Zelda’s hand but she quickly grabs it as a warning for you to stay out of it. You feel her energy change as she watched Mr. Kinkle.

“No, Tommy could've gotten out of this hellhole if it wasn't for you. But you, you wouldn't let him go, would you? 'Cause how would that look?”

“That's it. Sit down.” He growls. “I said, sit down!” He wrestles with his son and they knock down the casket, taking the table next to it and it’s contents down with it. The crowd gasps as Harvey rushes out of the room and Sabrina rushes after him, calling his name. Everyone stares in shock as Aunt Zelda firmly grips your shoulder. When Mr. Kinkle rushes out of the room after Harvey, Aunt Zelda lets go of you and follows him. You look at Ambrose.

“What do you think she’ll do?” You whisper to him.

“You should go stop her before we find out.” He whispers back.

“Why me?”

“You’re her favorite!” He says as he nudges you. “Aunt Hilda and I will do damage control.” You quickly walk out after Aunt Zelda.

“You think it's okay for you to embarrass me like that? In front of the other guys? To shit on Tommy's memory like that?” You see Mr. Kinkle grab Harvey as you walk out of the house. You walk up to Aunt Zelda but she holds an arm out, protecting you from the sight.

“Let go of him, Mr. Kinkle,” Sabrina yells at the man.

“Stay out of it, you idiot.” You think to her.

“It shouldn't have been Tommy. It should've been you.” The man growls at his son. You stare at the three of them in shock with Aunt 

“I wish it had been me. I wish to God it had been me.” Harvey replies.

“Oh, you shit.” Mr. Kinkle growls as he raises a hand to hit his son. “You little pathetic piece of”

“Mr. Kinkle!” Aunt Zelda shouts, her hand strongly in the air, holding Mr. Kinkle’s hand still. “This is your son's funeral. Might we honor his memory and compose ourselves?” There is a tense moment of silence before Aunt Zelda speaks again. “Your guests are leaving. I suggest you do the same.” She says quickly before releasing Mr. Kinkle’s hand. Mr. Kinkle lets go of Harvey. You can sense his confusion. He walks away from Harvey and past you and Aunt Zelda Harvey runs in the opposite direction. You watch the horrified and confused look on Mr. Kinkle’s face as he looks at you and Aunt Zelda.

“Wait. Harvey! Harvey, don't go!” Sabrina calls as she runs after him.

“I need to be alone, 'Brina, please.” He says as he walks off.

“Time, Sabrina.” Ms. Wardwell says as she appears beside Sabrina. You leave the safety of Aunt Zelda’s watch and go to your sister and teacher. “Give him time.” She turns her attention to you. “Hello, Y/N.” She says to you. You give her a flat look. Aunt Zelda approaches the three of you.

“Twins, why don’t you get out of the house for a bit, at least until Mr. Kinkle leaves?” She says. 

“I’ll take the two of you out for some sodas, we can discuss what just happened if you’d like.” Ms. Wardwell says to the two of you.

“Thank you.” Aunt Zelda says to her before walking into the house. You sigh as Ms. Wardwell leads you and Sabrina to her car. Sabrina sits upfront and you sit behind her. The three of you are silent all the way to the diner until you are all seated and Ms. Wardwell orders herself a drink and you and Sabrina do the same. Ms. Wardwell, of course, is the first to speak after the drinks are brought to the table.

“Poor Harvey Kinkle. How will he ever survive in that house, alone, with that bulldozer of a father?”

“He won't survive. Not without his brother, that's the truth.” Sabrina sighs. “Ms. Wardwell, my father asked you to look out for me, and you have. Now I'm asking for, for more. For help. And you can't mention what I'm about to say to my Aunties.”

“No. Of course, I wouldn't. Well, what are you thinking?”

“I'm thinking, I keep thinking Tommy's body still hasn't been found.”

“Yes?”

“So, if he were to come back, there would be some questions, but not many.”

"Come back?” She whispers. “Um, Are you talking about a resurrection spell?”

“You saw Harvey, Ms. Wardwell. He needs his brother back.”

“Necromancy is the darkest and most dangerous of the sacred magics. It's, well, it's death magic.”

“Please, Ms. Wardwell. I love him. And as Sabrina, his girlfriend, I can only do so much. As Sabrina the witch I could fix this. If I, if-if we have the power to ease his suffering, why shouldn't I use it?”

“Well, for a start, there are rules. And it's a treacherous business. Life. Death. The afterlife. These are not things to be trifled with.”

“For once I agree with you.” You say flatly.

“Why? Is it that complicated?”

“Well, no, actually. The incantation I have is really quite simple and yields great results. I've seen them firsthand. 

“I no longer agree with you.” You sigh.

“But you can't. I beg you.” Ms. Wardwell ignores you.

“Wait, you have this incantation?”

“Somewhere in my office, on the shelves in Baxter High. A Book of the Dead, full of all sorts of necromantic rites.”

“How convenient. A dangerous book that could expose us all right out in the open for a bunch of mortals to find at any moment.” You say flatly. 

“But, Sabrina even if you did use this rite, there's one part of the spell that's unspeakable.”

“Oh, she’ll do it anyway.” You roll your eyes.

“Which part?”

“I'm loathed to say it out loud. The spell requires an offering for the dead to rise. Balance out the cosmic forces.”

“Oh.”

“Someone has to die for Tommy to live again. An eye for an eye. A life for a life. But you couldn't cross that line, either of you. You are many things, Sabrina and Y/N Spellman, but a killer is not one of them.” Sabrina doesn’t bring up the idea again, but you know it’s still festering in her mind. Ms. Wardwell and Sabrina continue to chat about frivolous things until the sun sets and is replaced with darkness. Ms. Wardwell drives the two of you home.

“How was your time with Ms. Wardwell?” Aunt Hilda calls to the two of you.

“Boring.” You sigh. “Where is Aunt Zelda?” You ask. “I want to see if she’s okay. Didn’t she used to babysit Tommy?” 

“A short time after his mum’s mum died, yes.” She replies. “I think she’s in the parlor with Father Blackwood.”

“Father Blackwood is here?” Sabrina asks.

“What did we do now?” You complain. “The only time he ever comes here is when we’re in trouble or about to be in trouble.” You hear aunt Hilda chuckle.

“Actually, this time he’s here to talk to Ambrose, but Zelda wanted to speak to him.” You walk toward the parlor, where all the doors are closed.

“What are you doing?” Sabrina asks.

“I’m listening to see how much trouble we’re in.” You think to her.

“There can be no other recourse but to prostrate yourself before the Dark Lord. Go on.” Father Blackwood says. There is a moment of silence before Aunt Zelda speaks.

“I've fought to hold the Spellmans to the mark since Edward's death.” You strain to hear her voice. Aunt Zelda takes a deep breath. “But we're a fallen family. Half-mortal, house-arrested, excommunicated. There are times I feel I'm running a halfway house for wayward witches.” She says, her voice getting louder as she losing control of it. She sounds like she’s crying. “I'm failing, Father.” She chokes out. “Failing the Church of Night.” She whimpers. “Failing you.” You walk away from the door before you can hear anything else. You feel hurt by Aunt Zelda’s confession. Ambrose made mistakes that caused him to be arrested. Aunt Hilda made mistakes that caused her to be excommunicated. But you didn’t ask to be born half-mortal. You didn’t ask to be born at all. You feel like Aunt Zelda is blaming you for who you are, but you didn’t ask to be half-mortal. You don’t want to be half-mortal. If you could get rid of your mortal genes, you would, but it isn’t that simple. You hate that half-mortal was the first issue she brought up.

“What did you hear?” Sabrina thinks to you as you walk into the kitchen where she and Aunt Hilda are. The two of them are sitting at the table.

“Nothing.” You think.

“How is Zelda doing?” Aunt Hilda asks.

“She’s talking to Father Blackwood.” You reply. “She’s confessing her sins to him.” Aunt Hilda stares at you for a moment.

“What did you overhear?”

“I overheard a lot.” You reply sadly. “But I refuse to share what I heard.” You feel tears prickling at your own eyes. You clear your throat. “I’m going to get some rest. It’s been a long day.” You say.

“Goodnight, love.” Aunt Hilda says to you. “I’ll be up in a minute to check on you.” You don’t reply. You quietly head upstairs and into bed, Aunt Zelda’s confession echoing in your ears.


End file.
